The Pagan Workplace

The workplace can be more difficult to make and keep harmonious than the home, largely because we do not choose our colleagues. While good friendships and romances may spring up quite naturally at work, there may be people we would not wish to see out of office hours and one or two who seem deliberately to make the working day as hard as possible for us and others.

We still have to co-exist and co-operate with these people during what may be a large part of our week, however, and so it is necessary to minimise the effect of any negative behaviour or unnecessary intrusion into our personal workspace and time, however well meant this may be.

Often the most irritating interruptions are benignly intended, but if you work in a highly competitive environment and if you are naturally gentle and helpful, you can become exhausted or frequently upset by unfair criticism, gossip and pressure to fulfil unrealistic targets.

Applying neopagan principles in the workplace

Some workplaces are naturally supportive of the neopagan viewpoint of co-operation, integrity and valuing every person no matter how complex and time consuming or how little they can do for us in return.

However, you may find it hard to maintain ethics and tolerance in larger impersonal organisations or multi-nationals with limited interest in local variations, which encourage conformity to some corporate ideal that seems to take little account of the people involved.

Even if you work in the caring professions, concern and time for the needs of vulnerable individuals may be constrained by financial targets, under-resourcing of co-workers and equipment and top-heavy administration.

It may be that some day you will be able to work for or by yourself or with a partner, applying the standards you value and perhaps, if you wish, developing creative, therapeutic or spiritual gifts as a full-time occupation.

With the opportunities offered by the internet, many people now run businesses from home that have worldwide connections, and it is immensely satisfying and in the tradition of early people to keep yourself and a family with what you produce, whether it be websites, film scripts, fine crafts, paintings or organic fruit and vegetables.

However, as I have discovered, self-employment and working from the living-room table can bring different pressures, such as a less-than-structured day that can spill over into evenings and weekends and constant telephone, personal and mail intrusion.

Even if you do work in a large company, you can improve the energies in your own space and the positive effects will spread to improve the general atmosphere and certainly bring a more favourable response towards you and your work.

Neopaganism and business

Many neopagans are successful in business precisely because they are people-centred, are on the whole honest and try to see the best and the potential in every situation. They are also more likely to trust their intuition about opportunities and people, and to realise that what you put into your job in terms of time and effort brings personal satisfaction even if others seem to do very little and get away with it.

Whether you are a therapist, or would like to open a New-Age store, write self-help books, run classes, make or sell herb and flower beauty products or healing remedies or run a wholefood restaurant or catering company, you will have daily pleasure in producing what you love.

Many neopagans do succeed in business, and if this is your dream I would recommend you make a start, even if only in a small way. Spend a few months working in a New-Age store before opening your own or, if you would like to run a home-based therapy or life-coaching business or to practise clairvoyance or mediumship, rent a room in a therapy centre or successful New-Age store while you are building up a client base.

You can then gradually increase your hours through word of mouth, the best form of advertising. Book a table at any alternative health or psychic fair within reasonable travelling distance of your home and, even if at first you just break even, you can take along a pile of business cards, printed very cheaply, to distribute among already interested people.

Take every chance to do lectures, for free if necessary in return for advertising and perhaps a table to sell your goods and services. Offer your products to local stores, take them along to any fairs or exhibitions, not just New-Age ones, and start your own mailing list.

The internet is the gateway to the wider public, so persuade a technologically minded teenager or employ a good web designer whose work you know or who is recommended, to advertise your events, services and goods (whether physical items or online courses or readings).

There is a misconception that if you follow pagan principles you should not charge for your expertise or ask a realistic price for what you sell, and that poverty equals spiritual worth. In fact, the more successful you are, the more you can help deserving people for nothing or cheaply.

You also need to charge an economically viable rate for your time, services and expertise if you are to be taken seriously and thrive in an increasingly overcrowded market.

Finally, remember alternative-based businesses are businesses like any others and those few who wait for inspiration or for the cosmos to provide will not succeed - and in not succeeding, will miss the chance to do good as well as to earn a living.

The aura of the workplace

Your workplace will have an overall energy field or aura just like an individual human aura that has built up over years. If there is a lot of electrical or technological equipment, then the workplace aura will be highly charged and volatile, even before you add the personalities of the workers and the joys and sorrows of their lives in and out of work that make up their individual energy fields.

Highly charged does not necessarily equal efficient and even in a place where there are daily deadlines, a calm, relaxed and friendly atmosphere makes focus and accuracy easier than if everyone is constantly screaming, rushing round with one ear clamped to a mobile phone and worrying about the task after next before the current one has been completed.

In a recent UK survey of more than 1000 office workers carried out by Office Angels, 26 per cent wanted the re-introduction of a tea, coffee, sandwiches and cakes lady instead of machines or having to go out for snacks, 39 per cent wanted the revival of the full-hour lunch break and 33 per cent asked for an annual work outing.

Half did not want to eat lunch at their desks while a third disliked open-plan offices. All these are indications of the need for workplaces to become more friendly and homely but also to allow for privacy and space.

Improving the energies of your workplace

As in the home, informal Feng Shui in the workplace has become very popular. A number of the most widely adopted principles are identical to those embedded in Westernised folk custom as sound principles by which people have traditionally organised their lives.

• If you have sympathetic employers or managers, campaign for frequently refurbished work and rest areas in lively but relaxing colours with comfortable furnishings, softer lighting instead of fluorescent overhead lights, greenery in workspaces and perfumed soap in wash rooms.
• Ask for toasters, refrigerators, good-quality coffee and juices, and basic foods, such as fruit, for workers to prepare nutritious, energy-giving snacks. In workplaces where people feel at home, there is a definite increase in productivity and less absenteeism and temper flare-ups.
• If you have a very metallic, high-tech Air-orientated office, try to soften the atmosphere with gentle earth colours (yellow and brown) and where possible thick, comfortable fabrics or even a cushion or two.
• Regular de-cluttering and spring cleaning your workspace not only helps the energies flow, but is a psychological boost to efficiency and, on a practical level, saves you time as you don't have to sort through e-mails and piles of papers for vital information.
• If you have messy colleagues, you should not act as their parent, but if you keep your personal area and any essential communal places tidy, you may influence them to be more organised in time.
• Put aside a time each week for archiving or removing old e-mails and responding to any that you have been avoiding.
• Plants in your office will absorb harsh electrical impulses from computers, phones and so on and if positioned on the window ledge will stop pylon or phone-mast pollution entering the room.
• Remember to care for them and to rotate them to rest, particularly hard-working ones. Workplace energy fields generally respond better to greenery and growing pot plants than cut flowers.
• Do not have sharp or spiky plants like cacti near your phone or computer, or a paper shredder or cutter near them or the main door as in both Feng Shui and Westernised energy balancing these are considered bad for harmonious relations. Watch and you will notice that many people do seem to get irritable around cacti or when shredding paper.
• Keep clocks in good working order and accurate, especially after a change to summer or winter times. Keep their faces dust free and polished.
• Gentle sounds encourage the flow of the life force, and a small wind chime or bells as part of a mobile over your workspace will encourage good fortune energies, opportunities and possible promotion or advancement.
• Use background fragrances, such as lavender and rose to encourage gentle words and empathy between people, orange to promote a sense of well-being and lemon bergamot for overcoming lethargy.
• Have a computer screensaver of your children, grandchildren, partner or pet looking happy or a beautiful place you have visited or are aiming to travel to one day, to give you extra positive vibes.
• If you work in a restrictive environment or regularly stay in impersonal hotels on business trips, try to imprint something of your own personality on the space. Use as a focus a small personal item you have had for years that makes you happy, a small framed photograph or two and a few favourite crystals.
• Try to pick up some brightly coloured flowers or a pot plant on the way from the station or airport. You can leave the plant for the next guest or the person who cleans your room.

Overcoming bad energies in the workplace

Sometimes buildings, especially in cities, near docks or on industrial estates may be built on land with soured energies, whether caused by unhappy events on the land in the past or earth energies that have become blocked because of a main road, phone mast or major industrial development in the area.

Converted prisons, factories or hospitals, especially mental hospitals, carry a lot of accumulated sadness, particularly if conditions were bad within them during their former use.

If you notice a lot of workplace absence or feel frequently unwell or exhausted yourself at work, amethyst crystals (especially small geodes) and green plants are the best remedies. Place them on window ledges, wash the amethysts weekly, leaving them to dry naturally, and make sure the plants are well watered.

Even if used only in your own area, amethysts and green plants can be more effective than you might imagine in lifting the general energies.

People in the workplace

• Be active in planning regular works' barbecues and family events so that you get to know your colleagues and their families out of work. In this way you will be more supportive of one another in times of family crisis and also tend to have more family support for your workplace. Regular teen days when older children come to work for the day and help out are another way of bringing work and home closer.
• If you are an employer or manager in a smaller workplace make sure you share breaks with your workers where possible, bring cakes on birthdays and take your turn in making coffee and fetching the sandwiches.
• The simplest but most effective way of improving a workplace atmosphere is to smile when you greet people and to offer praise and positivity, as this is self-fulfilling and soon spreads.
• Personal contact is not always possible in a larger workplace. If you find that you tend to communicate with colleagues in the same office by phone or e-mail, try whenever possible, to walk across the room or even down a floor to talk to them.
• Talking face to face often solves problems in a fraction of the time and avoids possible misunderstandings.
• Think about the message you are giving to a client or colleague if you interrupt a conversation with them to answer your phone or check an e-mail.
• Believe in yourself, your products and your value, and take each situation as it comes and each person as you find them.
• Do not be over modest and undersell your abilities as that is undervaluing the client who has trust in you and believes that you are the best person to help them.

Crystals in the workplace

• A clear crystal sphere or a glass paperweight near a telephone or on top of a computer, is considered fortunate in both Eastern and Westernised energy balancing. The perfect spherical shape and the sparkling crystal bring in advantageous business calls and e-mails and when it catches the sunlight the quartz radiates fresh energies and clears stagnant ones. It will also prevent negative energies filtering into your aura. Wash the sphere or paperweight regularly and leave it to dry naturally.
• Green and black malachite crystals will guard you from the more adverse effects of modern equipment. Have one at each of the four corners of your computer or any other technical machine you regularly use.

• Use pastel crystals such as amethyst, rose quartz and blue lace agate to improve the energies in an Air-orientated office.
• Kunzite or sugilite, both recently discovered stones, should be kept in any vehicle you use in connection with work to keep you safe while commuting and to prevent road rage.
• If you work for yourself and have a shop or store room for items that will be sent out to customers, you can guide business to your company premises by hiding a pointed clear quartz crystal on either side of the door or gate.
• Position these so that they point inwards slightly and then use more pairs at regular intervals, always hidden and pointing inwards, to mark an invisible pathway of energy to guide people into and round your premises (even if they are actually ordering online). I have used this method successfully, hiding two pointed crystals, pointing inwards, in the two front corners of a shop window.
• In a shop, use more hidden crystals to direct the feet and eye gaze of your customers. Think about the way customers walk around the shop, stopping finally at the till to pay. Experiment with positioning crystals on either side of the invisible path, pointing towards any special displays where you would like customers to pause.
• You could put pictures of inward-pointing crystals as decorations on catalogue or web pages for the same effect.
• If you use a computer in your business, direct one crystal point diagonally towards your computer on the left as you face it and one pointing diagonally outwards on the right-hand side of the computer, again at the front, to encourage internet business.
• Keep a sparkling yellow citrine, called the merchant's stone, in a till or cash box and if you have a new business, display the first money you are given for a sale in a glass frame on the wall.

Workplace protection

The psychic shield technique is ancient. On his travels through the Near East, the Ancient Greek general Alexander the Great discovered a valley filled with huge diamonds that were guarded by poisonous serpents. Alexander ordered his soldiers to polish their shields so that they became like mirrors.

As the soldiers advanced, the serpents saw their own reflections, became confused and stung one another to death, leaving the way clear for Alexander to take the treasure.

Use this same technique to create a protective shield around yourself in the workplace.

• If you are suffering spite or gossip, any shiny object on your desk between you and the approaching perpetrator is effective as a shield. Try the mirror of an open make-up compact, a small ornamental or swivel mirror or a stainless steel desk tidy.
• Alternatively, set a spare pair of spectacles, facing outwards on your desk or hang a long, unfastened necklace of clear glass or crystal beads behind you as a single strand from a high window catch or from a hook on the wall. This will reflect back any negativity moving towards you, especially when light catches the beads.
• As the person who is unfriendly, bitchy, bullying or super critical approaches, imagine the light from the reflective surface becoming incredibly bright and forming a shield in front of you, so that any negative words bounce back. Sit and smile calmly at the person as they speak to you, and they may move back involuntarily as the reflected force of their own tirade or sarcasm hits them.
• If you still feel intimidated, as they leave, pick up your chosen reflective surface and hold it towards their retreating figure, saying out loud or in your head if you can be overheard, 'You can have that back.' When possible, splash water on your chosen reflective surface.
• Alternatively, raise the hand you write with slightly so the palm is vertical and facing the person who is causing you problems, and push the air back towards them.
• This is one of the oldest protective gestures known to humankind, and pushes the negativity back to the sender. You are not cursing them, just sending back the negativity that rightly belongs to them.
• Use the same hand gesture towards the screen of your computer if you have received an unpleasant memo or e-mail.
• When you need to enter the lair of the office dragon or an autocratic executive, wear a silver- or gold-coloured pendant, necklace, bracelet or earrings, a shiny buckle or spectacles on a metal chain round your neck or carry a folder with a metallic cover or edges. Silver, copper and gold are very protective metals.
• If you feel angry or feel undervalued, compose an e-mail to the perpetrator saying exactly why you feel bad. Do not worry how petty it seems or how many grievances you list, but do not add any adverse comments, just state what you feel. Then read it through, delete it and wait.
• Sending the negativity back in your mind may, under the threefold law, cause a change of heart or even a climbdown by the perpetrator as you have sent back the energies. As a result you will feel better and even if you still have to deal with the matter, you will have had time to calm down and the other person may realise that they overreacted. I wish I had learned this years ago.
• In a noisy or stressful environment try occasionally to build in some peace, however brief, before you get a headache or lose your cool. Build in a quiet break somewhere green, maybe in a local city square away from the office at lunchtime.
• Invent, if necessary, a solitary routine task where you fetch files from the basement, check a book reference rather than going online or deliver something by hand. If all attempts to escape fail, go to the cloakroom and splash ice cold water on the centre of your hairline, your brow centre, your throat and wrist points to send an infusion of energy through your chakra energy system.

Crystalline protection

Ideally, you should have some clear quartz crystals and some darker stones in your workspace. If you cannot display your crystals because of the nature of your work, keep a single gently protective crystal such as an amethyst or smoky quartz in your left pocket or on your left side and a more active one, such as sparkling citrine on the right. This should balance the energies.

Light-reflecting crystals

• Choose clear crystal quartz, a sunny sparkling citrine and warm glowing orange carnelian or amber, all symbols of courage and confidence (the latter is even said to contain the souls of many tigers). Keep these in a dish in your workspace so you can run your fingers through them in order to keep your defences and self-confidence charged.
• Obtain two or three small clear quartz crystals with a point at one end that you can set along the three outer sides of your workstation. You can then turn the points outwards when trouble or intrusion appears on the horizon.
• Keep the points of the crystals facing inwards the rest of the time to transmit positive energies towards you during the day.
• If possible, position your crystals to allow natural sunlight, or in winter artificial light, to flow through them and make them sparkle.
• Hold your clear crystal sphere between your hands to fill you with confidence and optimism if you are expecting a difficult phone call or face-to-face meeting. Picture the crystalline sphere enclosing you during the conversation.
• Wash your protective crystals regularly under running water, especially after a hostile assault, and allow them to dry naturally.

Darker crystals

• Keep some darker semi-transparent stones within your work area to filter out depressing comments or discouraging remarks that can sap energy and enthusiasm. I call these my misery stones and they absorb unhelpful responses that come by phone or e-mail as well as teenage angst or whining cats passing through my workspace.
• Especially effective are amethyst, grey or brown smoky quartz, golden rutilated quartz with its tightly packed needles of light, rainbow or gleaming black obsidian or its softer sister semi-transparent Apache tear.
• These darker stones should be rounded and can be kept permanently on display in a dish or in a protective semicircle in your workspace to absorb noise, pollution, stagnant energies, highly contagious inertia and the vibes of those who constantly complain.
• Wash these stones regularly and bury them in the soil of a plant pot for 24 hours over the weekend or on your day off if they have had to absorb a lot of doom and gloom.
• If there is a lot of hostility or gossip or you have a bullying boss, use darker smoky quartz points or obsidian arrows (narrow arrow-shaped pieces of black obsidian, traditionally used in sevens, and sacred to the Ancient Egyptian lion-headed fire goddess, Sekhmet).
• As with the clear points, arrange the dark points in a semicircle, outwards to repel harm, inwards to enclose you in a low profile when you want to be left alone to work.

The Westernised elements and the workplace

Whether you work from home or go into a specific workplace, the same rules of elemental harmony apply as to the home. By harmonising your workspace you can maximise your opportunities and minimise any stress or negative effects from those you work with or who visit the workplace, or phone or e-mail you.

The psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung, who was fascinated by the elements and the spiritual world, gave the elements a modern psychological spin.

He hypothesised that everyone had a predominant elemental trait, a secondary one, a third shadow element that we find difficult and identify as a fault in those we dislike and a fourth element that is generally undeveloped. Earth is, in his theory, the sensations mode, Air thinking (logic), Fire intuition and Water feeling (emotions).

As you read the list of positive and negative qualities and elemental excesses in the lists below, you may identify your employer, partner, colleague, new recruit or yourself as possessing the characteristics of a particular element.

Your predominant element will act as an anchor and energise you if you keep your special elemental symbols (whether as crystals or a fragrance) in your workspace at all times. You can connect with them when you feel drained or anxious to restore your self-esteem and inner harmony.

The element that you display the most will represent the way you show yourself to the world and interact with other people especially at work.

The lesser subsidiary element, your alter ego, signifies strengths that complement your main good qualities. Build up this element in lesser amounts in your workspace if you are being taken for granted or feel that you are stifled by your present role.

The other element to consider strongly is the one whose faults and excesses annoy you most in others. There may be a particular person at work who infuriates you.

Add just very small quantities of this opposing element to your workspace and gradually you may become more tolerant of the person you dislike and maybe understand yourself (and your hidden nature) better. You and your enemy may even become friends as you discover what a lot you have in common.

The element that is fairly absent could offer you unexpected strengths to develop your working life in new ways and master those skills you have dismissed as not for you or beyond your capabilities. Again, introduce these only little by little and new doors of opportunity will open as you become skilled in different areas.

Finally, consider whether there are any particular work situations that trigger off your own or the elemental excesses of others. Perhaps a monthly visit from Head Office makes everyone excessively Fire-biased and irritable or bombastic so that the company does not show itself at its best.

In this case, for example, you could try introducing some extra Water symbols the day before and the day of the visit to help the situation flow more easily. This may even help the more difficult personalities to act in harmony and thus effectively.

The lists below are similar to those where the four elements are used for spiritually cleansing the home. Here, however, the elemental qualities are applied to the workplace.

Thus, the character of each element is the qualities the element-biased person will display at work and a list of particularly suitable occupations for each element is also given.

This may explain why you have always felt drawn to a particular career and perhaps could work towards it.

Earth

Character: The facilitator, protector, nurturer

Key words: I make welcome, I offer security

Activities to encourage Earth qualities in a team: Working on a practical project such as preparing for visitors; walking or trekking involving practical challenges

Workplaces and careers: Daycare centre workers, caring for older people and the disabled, caring for your own family full or part time, animal welfare and veterinarians, animal trainers and communicators, crafts persons, sculptors and potters, wood carving, carpenters and furniture makers, midwives, bankers, accountants, tax inspectors, house sales agents, government officials, land and property surveyors and developers, house renovators, painters and decorators, factory workers, funeral directors, family-run businesses, forestry and environmental workers, farmers, the food industry, bakers, gardening, mining and minerals

Colours: Green or golden brown

Crystals: Most agates, especially moss and tree agate, amazonite, aventurine, emerald, fossils, jet, malachite, petrified or fossilised wood, rose quartz, rutilated quartz, smoky quartz, red and golden tiger's eye, all stones with holes in the centre

Fragrances: Cypress, fern, geranium, heather, hibiscus, honeysuckle, magnolia, patchouli, sagebrush, sweetgrass, vervain, vetivert

Materials and substances to increase Earth: Dishes of salt, pots of herbs or dishes of dried herbs, flowers, miniature trees, ceramics and clay ornaments and vases, coloured and natural sand and ornamental gravel, pot pourri, crystals and gems, stones, bowls of fruit and nuts, anything made of wood, fabrics, cushions, mosaics, paper, account files and books of all kinds, animal symbols and images, forest or animal call music, anything green or brown

Excess Earth is manifest as: Inertia, sluggishness, constant tiredness, meanness with money from a usually generous person, obsession with details, inability to grasp the wider picture, unwillingness to consider alternative approaches, secrecy, obsessive tidiness, excessive home-making or nest-building at work, pessimism, territorial tendencies (own special chair or coffee mug)

Counteract excess Earth with: Air

Lack of Earth: See Excess Air

Related sense: Touch

Positive qualities of Earth people: Patience, stability, generosity, reliability, endurance, perseverance, respect for others and traditions, protectiveness, acceptance of others as they are without needing to change them, common sense, groundedness, tolerance, caretaker of the environment

Use Earth to bring into the workplace: Protection, security and stability, a steady infusion of money and customers, success with official and legal matters, a happy workplace, contented fellow workers, love of traditional work practices and crafts, respect for older workers, hospitality, inter-generational harmony, a welcome for new workers

Air

Character: Thinker, planner, evaluator

Key words: I calculate, investigate and communicate

Activities to encourage Air qualities in a team: Visualisation, music, mantras

Workplaces and careers: Architects, town planners, doctors, pharmacists, dentists, psychologists and psychiatrists, all sales and shop workers, mortgage advisers and financial advisers, students, communication industry (from mobile phone sales to newspapers and magazines), speech therapists, public speakers, detective or investigative work, transport workers and drivers, travel agents and resort representatives, all who work with the internet, software designers, television, radio and phone engineers, solicitors, judges, fitness instructors, all publishers, authors of factual books, teachers, researchers, dancers and choreographers, musicians, explorers, scientists, computer programmers and fixers

Colours: Yellow or grey, also purple

Crystals: Amethyst, angelite, blue lace agate, citrine, diamond, danburite, Herkimer diamond, lapis lazuli, sapphire, sodalite, sugilite, turquoise

Fragrances: Acacia, almond, anise, benzoin, bergamot, fennel, lavender, lemongrass, lemon verbena, lily of the valley, peppermint, sage, sandalwood

Materials and substances to increase Air: Feathers, feathery grasses, stainless steel and chrome, paper clips, scissors and knives, electric fans, pencils and pens, pins, helium balloons, all technological equipment including computers and phones, tools or instruments, ceiling mobiles, seeds, wind chimes, bells, keys, fragrant flowers and fragrance sprays, musical instruments, open windows, bird call, classical or dance music, fairy, bird and butterfly statues, symbols and images

Excess Air is manifest as: Being super-critical, sarcastic or witty at the expense of others, rushed or inaccurate work, incoherence, unwillingness to explain thinking or ideas, crankiness, gossiping, being liberal with the truth, poor timekeeping, losing data or forgetting appointments, changing the focus without reason, inability to finish a task or give realistic deadlines, impatience with details and boring tasks

Counteract excess Air with: Earth

Lack of Air: See Excess Earth

Related sense: Smell, sound (hearing)

Positive qualities of Air people: Communication skills, persuasiveness, joy, focus, intelligence, fair-mindedness, logic, independence, clarity, good memory, mental dexterity, optimism, teaching abilities, musical gifts, concentration, commercial and technological acumen, versatility, healing abilities through orthodox medicine or from higher sources

Use Air to bring into the workplace: Skill in passing tests and examinations, learning new skills, meeting deadlines, successful travel, changes and improvements in career (especially self-employment), obtaining justice, just rewards for efforts made, advantageous career relocation, money-spinning ventures, curiosity, better health and healing, new beginnings, following opportunities and meeting new helpful people, anything to do with science, technology or the media

Fire

Character: The creator, action man or woman, the crusader

Key words: I inspire, I carry through and I get results

Activities to encourage Fire qualities in a team: Adventure days, barbecues and orienteering challenges

Workplaces and careers: The performing and creative arts, chefs, cooks and kitchen staff, firemen and women, the Armed Forces, jewellers and photographers, security workers such as the police, car mechanics, car manufacturers, inventors, poets, artists, interior designers, ambulance workers, rescue services, heads of companies and directors, central-heating engineers, troubleshooters, fuel industry (gas, oil, petrol or electricity), blacksmiths, metalworkers, animal slaughter, butchers, radiotherapists, nuclear industry

Colours: Red, orange or gold

Crystals: Amber, blood agate, boji stones, carnelian, desert rose, fire agate, garnet, heliotrope, hematite, iron pyrites, jasper, lava, obsidian, ruby, topaz

Fragrances: Allspice, angelica, basil, bay, carnation, cedarwood, chamomile, cinnamon, cloves, copal, Dragon's Blood, frankincense, juniper, lime, marigold, nutmeg, orange, rosemary, tangerine

Materials and substances to increase Fire: Candles and tea lights, lights of all kinds (especially fibre optic and lava lamps), sun catchers (sparkling or clear crystals on strings or chains hung at windows to catch the light), crystal spheres (especially clear quartz that reflect rainbows), mirrors (sometimes regarded as Water), essential oils and oil burners, natural sunshine, rainbows, oranges and all orange fruit, sunflowers and all golden or orange flowers, radiators, stoves and furnaces, dragon images and statues (especially gold ones), mobiles and images of dragonflies, natural sunshine, music from hot lands, gold jewellery, anything that is gold, orange or red in colour or made of gold

Excess Fire is manifest as: Irritability and impatience, temper tantrums, being autocratic or dictatorial, forcing an unrealistic pace of work for self and others, sudden loss of interest in a project without good reason, inability to switch off from a subject or from work, becoming increasingly accident prone, empire building, carelessness with property, unnecessary risk taking, inappropriate sexual remarks or jokes, inflaming dormant office passion

Counteract excess Fire with: Water

Lack of Fire: See Excess Water

Related sense: Vision and survival instincts

Positive qualities of Fire people: Courage, inspiration, idealism and altruism, loyalty in adversity or a major crisis, striving for perfection, defence of the weak, creativity, leadership, potency, fertility in all aspects of life, generosity, breadth of vision, generation of enthusiasm in others, transformation of raw idea or product into a marketable creation, ability to see possibilities in even an unpromising situation or project

Use Fire to bring into the workplace: The fulfilment of ambitions, dynamic leadership, all creative and artistic ventures, ethical and spiritual principles, success in sports and competitive games, fame, wealth and unexpected good fortune, courage, pleasure in achievements (of self, others and the company), the removal of what is no longer needed, protection against vicious attack or threats

Water

Character: The peacemaker, counsellor and creator of beauty and harmony

Key words: I bring people together and can flow with the situation and adapt to the needs of the moment

Activities to encourage Water qualities in a team: Meditation, sharing experiences and feelings, role playing

Workplaces and careers: Social services, the export trade, alternative medicine and therapy, nurses and therapists, mental health workers, psychotherapists, play therapists, beauty and fashion consultants, florists, water industry, hydroelectric power, fishermen and sailors, counsellors, writers of fiction and children's books, customer service advisers, clairvoyants and mediums, the hotel and hospitality trade (also Earth), production or sale of alcohol, laundry workers, cleaners, refuse disposal workers, plumbers, swimming pool workers (instructors or maintenance or other staff), glass makers and glaziers, ministers of religion

Colours: Blue and silver

Crystals: Aquamarine, calcite, coral, fluorite, jade, kunzite, milky quartz, moonstone, opal, pearl, selenite, tourmaline

Fragrances: Apple blossom, apricot, coconut, eucalyptus, feverfew, heather, hyacinth, jasmine, lemon, lemon balm, lilac, lily, myrrh, orchid, passionflower, peach, strawberry, sweet pea, thyme, valerian, vanilla, violet

Substances and materials to increase Water: Milk, water, tea, coffee, juice; sea shells; water features; vases; nets or webs of any kind; fish in tanks (in Feng Shui eight goldfish for prosperity and good luck and one black one to absorb negativity); mermaid, sea creature and dolphin images and statues; flower and tree essences; glass or crystal bowls filled with water; sea, river or dolphin music; silk scarves; transparent drapes; glass; mirrors; silver bells on cords; Tibetan singing bowls; silver or copper jewellery or anything made of silver or copper

Excess Water is manifest as: Becoming over-emotional about a professional matter, being manipulative, playing favourites, inappropriate role-taking at work (for example, helpless little girl, big sister or father knows best), attention-seeking, constant need for reassurance or praise, excessive socialising during working hours, instigating rivalries, jealousy, over-sensitivity to constructive advice, inability to be objective about people or situations, over-identification with the boss or the workplace

Counteract excess Water with: Fire

Lack of Water: See Excess Fire

Related sense: Intuition, taste

Positive qualities of Water people: Love of beauty, compassion, empathy, harmony, love, forgiveness, unconscious wisdom, imagination, lover of nature, willingness to negotiate and compromise, peace-making skills, ability to work with others, gentle good humour, uncanny power to anticipate the needs of a situation and thoughts of other people

Use Water to bring into the workplace: Trust, friendship, loyalty and commitment to the workplace and co-workers, the mending of quarrels and slowness to take offence, adaptability to changing circumstances, versatility, fun and spontaneity, gentle good humour and ability not to take self too seriously, respecting everyone's opinion and feelings, spiritual values, healing differences and old rivalries

Making elemental modifications

An elemental imbalance at work may affect everyone but will be most noticeable in individuals who normally display that element prominently in their character. The excess may also become obvious during a meeting or in remarks made and behaviour observed during a break when everyone comes together.

The excess may have been triggered by an event such as a wave of redundancies, a lost order for the company or new people joining an established team. Elemental imbalances tend to spread like wildfire but are easily remedied.

The excess of an element may make the atmosphere of the workplace strained and may result over time in an unusually high number of stress-related absences or even resignations. The lists above will help you to identify the element of which there is an excess.

On the other hand, there may be a lack of a particular element, especially if you work alone or for yourself and have to be a self motivator. This can greatly deplete your overall elemental energy.

For example, if your office displays signs of excess Water, you might require additional Fire power if you have to get a project finished urgently. Water will calm down stressed individuals trying to meet deadlines, who are in overload and making mistakes.

Likewise, extra Air will bring sudden focus and concentration when creativity is in overdrive and extra Earth ensures somebody is sorting out the practicalities, such as supplies and delivery, without which nothing productive will result in spite of extra efforts by the workforce.

Refer to the lists above to identify the crystals, colours or materials that are suitable for dealing with the elemental imbalance in your workplace.

Choose one of the methods below and you will find that, even if you can only change the balance in your own workspace, the effects will be experienced more widely, and often quite rapidly.

• Crystals, colours and fragrances are the fastest and easiest extra input. Use natural sources such as fragrant flowers in different colours, essential oil fragrances on oil burners or fresh fruit to eat.
• Keep a set of one or two of each of the elemental crystals in a drawer or locker to put on your desktop or workspace as required.
• Soak an elemental crystal in water for a few hours and use the crystal-infused water in juice, tea or coffee. Keep a small bottle of an appropriate water to drink or splash on pulse points. Old mineral water bottles are ideal for this purpose.
• Herbal teas, for example, chamomile for Fire, are a natural source of instant elemental energy.
• Keep a collection of small coloured ribbons or coloured wools so you can knot a single strand around your chair or workbench or in a driving cab to give you a gradual infusion of elemental strength. Alternatively, make watchbands from appropriate colours.
• If you know what kind of a day lies ahead, dress in particular elemental colours or wear the appropriate metal to keep you harmonious and focused.
• Breathing in the colour of fresh flowers or crystals is highly restorative and can be practised unobtrusively in a busy office. As you breathe in slowly and regularly, picture the flower colour entering your body on the in-breath and filling it with coloured light. On the out-breath, visualise dark- or misty-coloured energies flowing out. Continue until you feel filled with light.