Elemental Affinities

Hello my name is Ursala and today I am speaking about a shaman’s relationship with the Elements. More specifically, the idea that a given shaman will have a primary affinity with one Element out of the Four.
Not all shamans have a primary element. In fact, what all shaman ought to strive for is balance - balance between nature and civilisation, balance between life and death, and balance between all four elements. By definition, the shaman is a mid-point - an interpreter, or medium, if you like - between the physical world and the spiritual one, so she ought to walk the line between them without wobbling or falling off to one side.
But every shaman starts somewhere, and most do not reach the ideal place where their balance is completely neutral. Even if they do, it can be very difficult to maintain, with each aspect of the shaman’s life trying to pull her in its own direction. And thus, most shaman have a preferred Element.
There four traditional Elements (I will not cover the element of the Wilds today, because I have my own extensive headcanon on it) are Earth, Fire, Water and Wind. Each has its own individual properties, and they tend to cancel each other out when put into certain pairs – Earth is the diametric opposite of Air, and Fire is the diametric opposite of Water.
(There is some writing in the World of Warcraft RPG that suggests the cancellation between Fire and Water is greater than that between Air and Fire – Fire elementals actually take damage when they visit the plane of Water, and vice-versa; whereas Earth elementals only feel uncomfortable in the plane of Air, and vice-versa.)
One of these Elements will have spoken to a shaman first. Usually it is an Elemental communication which will alert a person to the fact she is a shaman in the first place, and as such she often has a primary Element before she has received any formal training. And depending on how long goes between that first communication and the start of formal training, that primary Element may begin to imprint itself on her personality.
It’s unclear whether Elements form a shaman’s personality from much earlier on than their first communication or if Elements are drawn to people who are already similar to them. But there’s no doubt that the personality traits of an Element can become much more marked on a shaman after the first proper contact between her and the Element.
==Earth==
Earth is steady and patient, but stubborn and often overly forceful. It is honest, but that means it does not tell white lies, either. A shaman with Earth as her primary will generally be stoic and quiet, speaking when necessary – but her words will often be more profound, or at least more forceful, than those of her more whimsical or fleeting counterparts. She holds a grudge easily and, once angered, finds it very difficult to stop herself. Earth often leaves a large imprint on a shaman if it gets a chance, and if a shaman speaks with Earth only for a long time then it can be difficult for her to find balance. She finds change difficult and will often become distressed if changes are made without her being warned, or if a large change is very sudden. The Shattering, therefore, was particularly harrowing for Earth shaman – on top of that sudden unpleasant change, the support of the Earth itself was taken out from underneath them. Dwarf shaman are often Earth primaries.
==Fire==
Fire is typically known as a destructive Element, but it also has strong aspects of renewal. Fire shaman are great advocates of the change that Earth shaman loathe so much, so seeing the two kinds work together can be very interesting. A Fire shaman is not afraid to speak her mind and does not shy away from confrontation, sometimes going so far as to start arguments deliberately, although rarely will she do so for her own entertainment. She can make a fine revolutionary, unafraid to make change where it’s needed and to dispose of traditions in favour of pragmatism; but she can also quite happily go along by herself. She will make compromises reluctantly, but have less of a tendency to hold a grudge than her Earth counterpart, preferring to move on to new battlefields. Orc shaman are often Fire primaries.
==Water==
Water is possibly the least confrontational of the three Elements and as such a shaman with it as her primary Element will often make a good diplomat. A Water shaman is kind, nurturing and hates to upset others, although there’s nothing stopping her from acknowledging that sometimes hurt is something that needs to happen. She will express her emotions readily; crying is a Water response, said to be when the sadness inside of you wells up so great that it spills over and out of your eyes. She is not adverse to change, adapting quickly to suit new situations and make herself comfortable in them. Water shaman make fine healers, their empathy and magical affinity to Water (as a carrier of nutrients) lending itself to the profession. Draenei shaman are often Water primaries.
==Air==
Air is the most elusive of the Elements, making the Air primary rare. It’s also the Element that lends itself most closely to skills that are useful when interacting with other mortals, which means her apparent rareness could just be the fact that she is far less obvious than the primaries of the other three. Air lends itself to quick thought, intelligence, and successful negotiation, but also to manipulative deception and trickery. Air is the most subtle of the Elements, and the hardest to pin down, being apparently unpredictable and spontaneous; an Air shaman will be similar. She will be quick- and sharp-witted, and is the most likely of all four to make fun of others for no end other than her own amusement. That said, she will also be good at making others laugh; she is good at predicting and manipulating what others will think and feel. An Air primary will make a good ambassador, as her mind will lend itself well to negotiation. However, where her Earth counterpart is loyal, she is the opposite; she has a tendency to be a fair-weather friend, switching sides when one option becomes undesirable for her. Goblin shaman are often Air primaries.
==Mixed==
All of this is not to say that one Element is all that can influence a shaman’s personality. Eventually, she will speak with the other elements, often under tutelage from an older shaman; and then hopefully she will be able to reach some kind of balance. But often the second Element that a shaman speaks with will influence her personality along the way, albeit to a lesser extent. The third and fourth Elements she speaks with influence her more through their absence, with the last often being her weakest, so I shan’t include those combinations.
It’s rare for the shaman’s second element to be the opposite to her primary, although it does happen.
Some combinations, such as Fire/air, merely serve to exaggerate the existing properties given to the shaman by her primary; in the Fire/air case, the shaman will become more unpredictable and faster to act on her argumentative impulses. Air/fire will, on the other hand, add a hurtful streak that the Air shaman might not otherwise have had in her; a desire to destroy that she may not know how to handle, that she may use to her advantage, or that she may do a good job of managing as she continues her learning.
However, others will give the shaman a far more tempered outlook. Earth/fire and Fire/earth are the prime examples. The Earth/fire will show more of a temper once she speaks to Fire, becoming able to express herself more readily rather than forming a grudge in private; and, similarly an Earth/water shaman will show more sympathy, in the same manner. The Fire/earth shaman will find her quick temper toned down, Earth now lending her its patience.
Air/water and Water/air are the most unpredictable of the combinations, combining (respectively) quick wit with an awareness for others’ feelings, and that same sympathy with the ability to manipulate it.
Water/earth is your average healer’s primary/secondary, being that both elements together lend themselves towards nurturing and patience – with Water first, the sympathy needed for caring for others comes to the forefront ahead of Earth’s oft-times aloof indifference.
Not all shaman fall into these categories, but it can be a good place to begin when crafting your shaman character; usually playing them for a session or two and learning which Element their personality lends them to can help you get into the paradigm of playing a shaman, especially as roleplaying your shaman through their progress of learning to speak with the four Elements progressively can provide so much character development opportunities. Archetypes as outlined above are not intending to be hard-line rules, but more generalisations intended to provide ideas and starting points. Deviations from those archetypes can be just as interesting as adherences, but do remember that all of them are deviations from the ideal shaman – one who is balanced between all four Elements equally.
Category:Shaman
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