I’d describe the second ring as an energy drawn from within the world. It is the energy surging through the mountains and flora that surround us. It is the Anima Mundi - ’soul of the world’. Some people get this mixed up with the Etheric plane, as the energies are very similar, but the Anima Mundi is more like what writers talk about when they speak of ‘Gaia/Gaea’, which is usually portrayed as an energy that flows within every living thing around us. If you can picture the world as a living womb with a heartbeat and a consciousness able to defend herself—as Mother Earth—or ‘Prithvi’—then you are on the right track.

Earth is seen by the Chinese as the balance of hot and cold, male and female—yin and yang—which is the same as the 1st and 3rd rings. The 2nd ring is the source of energy for most eastern world religions (An exception to that rule would be Shintoism). Consequently, gathering chi is very similar to ‘rooting’.

Right brain = First Ring
Third Eye = Second Ring
Left brain = Third Ring

The second ring is strong and resilient, yet malleable and shifting because it is being pushed and pulled by the forces surrounding it: the first and third rings. As mentioned before, fire burns away at its underside while water helps use the raw energy of the first ring to replenish it. The second ring is in a constant state of ‘stable unrest’.

When someone dies, if the essence of their anima is considered borderline good and evil, their souls reside in the Anima Mundi and stay in a state of unrest, while a decision is made based on the facts and cohesive data within the Collective Unconsciousness. If that person projects themselves, they would show up as a temporal image of themself in the physical plane: ghosts.

People attuned to earth tend to have a deep, personal connection with nature. They often are in touch with what their spirit animal is and show signs of that animal in their own personality. Some themes associated to the second ring include judgment, self-sacrifice, retribution,  stubbornness, respectfulness, burial, unrest, abundance, and patience. Earths are usually resourceful, empathetic, and are good friends to depend on, but can just as easily can show a different, hidden side of themselves, especially if they’ve been used and hurt a lot in life.

I should be clear: Just because someone shares traits with a certain element doesn’t mean they have the ability to be a mystic.

Abilities earth mystics have that other mystics do not:
By rooting, they can gather energy at amazing rates to the point where they can survive without food and rest for long periods of time. They can influence the growth of plants and can calm violent animals. They can gather energy at different focus points across their bodies for different effects. When they shield themselves, they often envision themselves covered in mud or surrounded by a wall of rock, but could just as easily imagine themselves within a flower bud or wrapped in vines. There are many ways for them to strike at spirits and demons, but most of them involve passing their energy through the ground.

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