"Philosophy" instead of "Theism" since it will also include atheism, non-theism, apatheism, ignosticism etc. as possible paradigms.
Note, the list is NOT exhaustive. Also, some paradigms may not include ALL elements but just some! I may list various paradigms later.
Options (ontology):
1: the elements ARE the gods
2: the elements are gods but there are gods that are not elements
3: all gods have an element associated with them
4: some (not all) gods have an element associated with them
3~4.1: gods can have, at most, only one element associated with them
3~4.2: gods can have more than one element associated with them
Methods of interacting with the gods in elemental polytheism:
Generic:
1: Indifference/inaction
2: Worship (i.e. recognize that they are superior and that we as mortals are inferior)
3: Following (i.e. trying to follow their path... it's more like a self-improvement thing compared to 'worship')
4: Do ut des (I give so that you will give) (transactional polytheism): a relationship with the gods based on offerings towards them so that they will give favors to us humans in return. Very transactional. The Romans did it.
5: Gratitude-theism: a relationship with the gods based on gratitude. The gods have already given us so much good stuff, so it's natural to display gratefulness towards them
6: Learn their teachings, and achieve new metaphysical knowledge.
7: Curse them, hate them.
7.1: Curse them on the basis that they are gods (maltheism/misotheism)
7.2: Curse only the ones that represent things one may oppose (e.g. war, famines, disasters, suffering, maybe death etc.) while being neutral or perhaps even admiring/worshipping the gods that represent things one may admire. In the case of elemental polytheism, it's currently unclear to me which elements one may oppose, as things like fire, water etc. can be both damaging or beneficial depending on the context.
8: Devotional polytheism: a relationship with the gods based on offering towards them... for nothing in return (really?!). But why?
8.1: A sense of identity? May be able to self-identify as "polytheist" and get bragging rights... but why? You're a polytheist with the other approaches as well. Perhaps an explanation is that you'd like to receive something from the gods, but the gods are not giving you any gift... (or maybe they did and you just didn't notice?)
8.2: Unspecified reason.
8.3: Purely for the love/devotion towards the gods (or some gods).
9: Des (you give) (perhaps very similar to #5 gratitude-theism?): a relationship with the gods based on their offering towards you.
9.1. (identical to #5 gratitude-theism?): the gods have already given you so many things, the only thing to do is to recognize it, and not take the "little pleasures" for granted.
9.2: the gods will give you good things in the future, you don't have to give the gods anything or do anything in particular. The gods will please you, sooner or later. But why haven't they done that already?
Etc. etc.
Worship can involve prostrating/kneeling, to symbolize that the gods (or God, for a monotheist) are superior and humans are inferior and it's focused on that concept.
Following can involve what I call "ritual stretching", to symbolize that while the gods (or God) are superior to humans, the focus here is not on the inferiority of humans per se, but rather, it's a call for help for self-improvement. Now, the interesting aspect of this is that self-improvement does NOT mean one becomes "more similar" to the gods, because let's say a human is... +1 or any finite integer, and a god is infinite (in terms of 'how good'), a human increasing their value from +1 to, say +3, has improved, but s/he has NOT become "more similar" to the gods, the difference between a human and a god is still the same (infinite). This is the perfect analogy.
Specific:
1: the elements ARE the gods
2: the elements are gods but there are gods that are not elements
3: all gods have an element associated with them
4: some (not all) gods have an element associated with them
5: gods can have, at most, only one element associated with them
6: gods can have more than one element associated with them
7: elements are considered belongings of the gods only, and the gods are conceptualized as completely distinct and separate from humans.
8: the gods are conceptualized as completely distinct and separate from humans, but the elements are considered belongings to the gods and humans alike.
9: the gods are not necessarily completely separate from humans, as humans may have some 'divine spark' within them, and through that divine spark, elemental properties may be achieved or interacted with directly.
Some possible conceptualizations of the elements:
Conceptualization 1:
Wind: the accelleration of something that already exists e.g. studying more than you usually do, exercizing more than you usually do, self-improvement etc. but it can be the accelleration of a bad thing too!
Water: being flexible and adapting to the various situations, like a liquid in a container. May also be thought of as conformism (which is not *necessarily* a bad thing, as that is a subjective judgement one gives).
Fire: to quit one's vices or other traits that one does not desire
Ice: not adapting to the various situations, not letting the context you live in shape you, being inflexible, unchanging... staying true to your own ideals, non-conformism.
Thunder: quick, sudden changes in one's life or way of thinking that may or may not have lasting consequences.
Earth: the foundation of one's personality, views, attitudes etc. which one then builds upon and adds more stuff (based on that foundation), but the foundation remains the same.
Poison: something that gradually increases damage/misfortune/problems/bad things happening to a person. Or, something that causes problems long-term (though it may not necessarily be harmful at first)
Conceptualization 2:
Water: something that gives life, something that can heal, or have benefits.
Ice: something that stops you from doing what you want to do
Fire: something that is useful but that can have disastrous consequences if used incorrectly. (hmm... but now that I'm thinking of it... the same reasoning applies to water... I may need to think of something better... perhaps that water is necessary but fire is merely just useful?)
Conceptualization 3:
Ice: apathy, indifference.
Hmm... actually, since the conceptualizations are modular (like everything else in my philosophy), it's wiser to do multiple conceptualizations of each element rather than different conceptualizations of the entire set of elements. I'll redesign the template eventually!
Implications of interactions with the elements
What happens if, for example, wind is conceptualized as the acceleration of something that already exists, and you start studying more than you usually do? I mean, what kind of interaction is there between a person and an element?
1: Act of worship towards that element.
2: The person is infused with that elemental energy, at least temporarily.
3: The person summons that elemental energy unto themselves.
4: The elements always exist in every person, but when someone performs an elemental action (e.g. studying more than one usually does), the corresponding element gets "activated" in that person.
5: The person releases that element into the environment (with varying implications)
5.1: The characteristics of the environment is modified due to the release of that element:
5.1.1: ...in a way that affects everyone.
5.1.2: ...in a way that only affects those who actively practice elemental magick i.e. that elemental presence becomes "available" for those manipulating elemental energies.
6: Nothing in particular happens, from a metaphysical perspective.
7: You become a part of a god
8: You don't become part of a god, but rather, you temporarily possess divine attributes.
9: You don't become part of a god nor possess divine attributes, but you get a 'divine spark' in you, though that divine spark is separate from you.
Modular conceptualization (multiple different interpretations for each element):
Ice:
1: not adapting to the various situations, not letting the context you live in shape you, being inflexible, unchanging... staying true to your own ideals, non-conformism.
2: something that stops you from doing what you want to do
3: apathy, indifference.
Fire:
1: to quit one's vices or other traits that one does not desire
2: something that is useful but that can have disastrous consequences if used incorrectly. (hmm... but now that I'm thinking of it... the same reasoning applies to water... I may need to think of something better... perhaps that water is necessary but fire is "just" incredibly useful?)
Water:
1: being flexible and adapting to the various situations, like a liquid in a container. May also be thought of as conformism (which is not *necessarily* a bad thing, as that is a subjective judgement one gives).
2: something that gives life, something that can heal, or have benefits.
Thunder:
1: quick, sudden changes in one's life or way of thinking that may or may not have lasting consequences.
1: God reprents ALL elements
2: God IS all elements
3: God represents SOME elements but not others (not purely monotheistic, this is a dualistic view, in this non-divinity exists, similar to traditional views of Christianity, Manicheanism or Islam)
4: God IS some elements but not others (another dualistic view that includes non-divinity)
5: God represents no element at all, and is not related to any element (another dualistic view, as God excludes the elements)
For all of the above except #5. If you interact with an element, then:
1: You're interacting with God.
2: You're becoming a part of God.
3: You're becoming god-like (not a part of God, but rather, temporarily possess divine attributes)
4: You're neither becoming a part of God nor possess divine attributes, but you have a 'divine spark' in you (though that divine spark is not part of you and is separate from you).
5: You have nothing to do with God, neither interacting with it, nor becoming it, nor becoming something with god-like attributes, nor having a divine spark.
6: Everyone has elemental energies inside them, and by performing an elemental-related action, you release elemental energy in the environment, and:
6.1: are able to use it.
6.2: are not able to use it. The elemental energy is just there in the environment.
6.2.1: it can be used by other people (therefore there may be an incentive for someone else to lead you to perform an elemental activity).
6.2.2: it cannot be used by you nor by other people.
6.2.2.1: it has no effect on the environment.
6.2.2.2: it has an effect on the environment, though potentially negative, and cannot be controlled by anyone.
Mostly the same as elemental theism, except that you remove any reference to any divinity, but keep everything else. You may (or may not) still believe in divinities, but in the elemental non-theism, divinity is not interacted with nor referred to.