Again, as you've been reading in these ramblings of mine, you'll notice that ancient knowledge got twisted and pour souls with an eager for attention and control usurped the concept of Baptism and totally depletted it of any of it's true significance.
The Elements - Water
By now you know of Earth, Water, Air and Fire (from my "name of God" article at least) which are the esoterical bases for all existence (it's a metaphor for mind concepts, not the equivalent of the physical substances by the same name). Since it's Baptism we're talking here, I'll stick to Water. Or more likely, I won't...
Water is associated with a cup.
You see, the cup holds water.
The esoteric Water element is associated with the heart, for the heart is the cup of blood, fills with it and pushes it foward, hence, Water is also the element of Love. But I digress, and allow me to digress even further...
The Holy Communion
Bread/Platter - Wine/Cup
I've written a portuguese article describing the holy communion rite - still not translated to English - but there I've not made the elements parallel.
The bread is served on a platter (platter is symbol for Earth, materialization, manifestation) and the wine on a cup (symbol for water, here the cup is the container of thoughts, the mind, the uterus of will).
Basically you have that the bread is your body, given to you as a physical manifestation, and the wine is your mind, also given to you to allow you to create. Your Will/Soul will "eat" and "drink" of these resources in order to express itself on it's return to divinity. You're the Son of God. Your body and blood are sacrificed for you(r sins). Those physical resources remind you of (in memory of) this "eating and drinking" everytime you use them, they "become" mistaken/identified with you in your mind, you think of yourself mortal... but that's another story. A ressurrecting one.
Back to Baptism.
Purification
In order for the concept of "purification" to actually make sense, you need to have something dirty, filthy, contaminated to begin with. Wash it, and the debris get thrown away with the water, for nature to recicle them as it pleases.
This is one of the aspects of Baptism, the ritual, it "washes" away impurities, cleans you up for your spiritual journey. Were you not a Child when baptized and fully aware of the meaning of the ritual, you'd feel a therapeutical psicological effect of release. Getting rid of your inner trash. Instant Relief. Change of psyche. That's also called Magick.
Water also spreads fast and assumes the shape of whatever it thouches.
It's been used to spread the guilt or getting rid of it, let's say, by "washing your hands". In ancient times, this hand washing ritual's water got poured in a vase and then sprayed on the crowd, hence making all share the responsility.
This ritual got carried through to ages until today, where you may witness it as the Asperges of Mass, although many priests may have no clue about it's real meaning.
My point here it that Water cleans...
The Fire of Hell
Now, if you spend centuries without a bath, some of the debris will become so solid and entangled that water alone can't remove them unless it takes a very long time. The same happens to your inner state if you cling on to unhealthy thoughts. And if you do, stubbornly, then nothing but Fire will burn it away.
And here is why you're told nowadays that unbaptized souls are lost. They weren't "cleaned" by water and now Fire is all it remains. In actuality it means that one refuses to let go of the dirt and when that's your stand, the devil loves it.
In Magick, or psycology, it simply means that those who refuse to let go of their impurities the easy way of the Water will have to deal with Fire when the stress upon the system breaks the weakest link. Call it depression, psycotic attack, compulsive crying... it's dirt. And hence the "Baptism by Fire" thingy too...
Frustration is good
Any good psychologist will tell you that frustration can be the best thing to drive someone to growth, and the clearing of each "frustrating" step towards your goal is the perfect analogy of water, you clean yourself of the effects and grow. If you don't go through little steps of frustration and grow, you'll ultimately get burned... on your way there.
Hugs and Kisses,
AMR