Elemental Imbalance: Water

Water is adaptive and flowing. It represents the emotional and astral, and demonstrates influence in our lives through emotions, Love, Sex, Family, Friends, and even Life itself. When this element is in balance, we find ourselves loving and empathetic, we feel connected with those around us. We are able to ride the flow of life and feel unbothered by its bends and turns, like a boat on the river. We feel deeply and strongly for our relationships and to the people we love

Imbalance in our water can be seen when these same feelings become overwhelming for us. Our relationships seem to sap too much from us, or we feel disconnected to others because of our emotions. Physically we may retain water, appear flabby or even dehydrated, we may even notice wet coughs, runny noses, or mucous issues. To address the issues of imbalance inside our water element, we have to analyze for deficit or excess.

Qualities of Deficient Water Element:

• Apathetic, Unhealthy Seclusion (Loner Depression), Poor Emotional Control/Understanding, Depressed, Physical indications may include indigestion, dehydration, dry nose, mouth, reproductive organs. Constipation, Dry Skin. 

Qualities of Excessive Water Element:

• Stressful Relationships, Emotionally Manipulative, Emotional Overflow, Poor Emotional Control/Understanding, Obsessiveness over people/relationships and mania. Physically may include runny nose, wet coughs, and mucous issues orally or reproductive. 

As with the other elements some of these qualities actually present themselves in both deficits and excess, so it is important to find more than one quality when analyzing the full scope of imbalance in our water element. As discussed with Imbalanced Air, we also have to be mindful of what excess or deficit is made in our other three elements, with this imbalance of water.

For example, if our water is in excess, and we find ourselves manic and obsessive, these all share characteristics with an excess  of fire, as water, being the element of emotion and intuition will manifest an excess as obsessiveness, or a similar “controlled by our emotions” kind of feeling, which can happen from fire as well. Likewise if we find ourselves struggling with runny noses, frequent urination, or mucous issues could also be experiencing a deficit of fire or earth.

These are just a couple examples to represent how imbalances in two elements will coincide when we analyze which one needs our attention. Typically in these situations one element is the dominant agitator, or the “cause” of the imbalance, and once it is addressed the other half of the imbalance will gradually bring itself in harmony. This is why it doesn’t benefit us to necessarily address both elements at one time. More work on the agitating element (usually the one in excess) will bring both of them into harmony.

Remember, most commonly one element’s excess can cause all of the others to become deficient, or even in some cases, can incite it’s opposite to rise in power too, leaving the remaining two drastically deficient, but if you only focus on the two deficient elements, you are not providing the room for them to actually grow.  This is another reason to focus on the main dominant agitator, and once it feels to have been balanced, we can reassess the harmony of all four, and move forward. 

This post is part of the Elemental Imbalance Series, and to fully grasp the concepts presented it is highly recommended that you also read the other three for Air, Earth, and Fire. While every article on Elementalism will shed some light, it is important, as with all aspects, to consider the whole of the information, and build from that, as opposed to bits and pieces.