Eclectic Elementalism

Eclectic Elementalism, one of the sects of Elementalism, can be found throughout Araela'a Haka'am in varying degrees and numbers, primarily among merchants, traders, nomads and ne'Guarda who spend the majority of their lives moving from place to place. Sedentary populations of Eclectic Elementalists can be found within the Keep & and Surrounds due to the incredibly diverse nature of the First Capitol of the Haka'am. Smaller pockets of Eclectic practitioners can sometimes be found living in the Rhejhe capitols as well, but this is less common. Eclectic Elementalism is a more freeform version of Elementalism in that practitioners assess for themselves what Foundational Elements are present in a given Rhejhe, location, or action and balance accordingly. These associations may or may not align with the practices of those who have lived all their lives in a single Rhejhe or region or who, in spite of traveling, still adhere to the specific traditions they were brought up in.
This form of Elementalism is far more fluid and imaginative (some say frivolous) in the ways it calls upon or expresses the elements. While the majority of regional Elementalism sects (coastal, mountain, plains, cold) all adhere in some fashion to the more rigid definitions of Foundational Elementalism, the Eclectics tend to find those definitions to be overly restrictive and unnecessarily narrow. Eclectics tend towards the poetic in their rituals and invocations, drawing on more oblique symbolism and extrapolating beyond literal representations. For example, rather than using a rock, incense, a bowl of water and a candle to represent earth, air, fire and water, an eclectic might select a picture or figurine of a sun badger, a bird, a fish and a dragon instead. Or, depending on their own sense of the nature of a sun badger, it's possible that they could choose the sun badger to represent fire due to its fiery colors, selecting a horse, which runs upon the ground to represent earth rather than the digging sun badger. Or the horse with its galloping speed might even represent air to an Eclectic because of the wind generated by its passage. Or all of the above depending upon the circumstances. Because of this kind of flexibility in association, the Eclectic will usually add some kind of descriptor to indicate the association they are making--"the deep-digging Sun Badger," "the Sun Badger with her fiery coat," "the horse as fast as the wind" and so on.
One thing that does not tend to vary among Eclectic Elementalists is the association of a particular element with a specific compass point. North being Earth, East as Air, South as Fire, and West as Water.
Eclectic practitioners tend to be well versed in the specific associations used by the other branches of Elementalism and highly tolerant of their preferences, easily adjusting themselves as guests in another branch's spaces. They are also adept at conducting balancings and rituals at their most basic and universal level without getting cranky. This is generally not the case when the tables are turned.

Demonym

Eclectics, Eclectic Elementalists