The Elements
The history of the Elements goes back to Babylonian times (as far as I can see), where the gods represented the cosmic elements: sea and fresh (water), earth wisdom (earth), sky/sun (fire), and wind/storm (air) - for example the Goddess of the Oceans (goddess as the creator)- Tiamat and Apsu (God of freshwater) who came together to create the cosmos. However, Empedocles was the first to view these elements as fundamental components of the universe. He believed they couldn't be created or destroyed, only rearranged in varying proportions. This theory was to dominate the world for nearly 2000 years.
Plato was the first to express the term Elements and Aristotle linked the four elements to physical qualities: Fire - hot and dry, Air - hot and wet, Water - cold and wet, and Earth - cold and dry. Hippocrates applied these elements to the human body, associating them with the four humours: yellow bile (fire), black bile (earth), blood (air), and phlegm (water).
Carl Jung mapped the four elements onto the human psyche: associating Earth with the sensing function (focused on physical sensations), Water with the feeling function (related to emotional responses), Air with the thinking function (concerned with rational thought), and Fire with intuition (direct perception beyond sensory input).
The four phases of the moon link to the elements as follows:
- Air (Waxing Moon): A time birthing new projects.
- Fire (Full Moon): A time for teaching, gathering, and celebrating.
- Earth (Waning Moon): Harvest. A time to work hard and turn ideas into action.
- Water (New Moon): A time for reflection, assessing progress, and setting intentions for the next cycle, rest.
The yearly seasons connect with the four elements as well - Spring with Air, Summer with Fire, Autumn with Earth and Winter with Water. There is so much wisdom contained in all of these cycles that are a part of our monthly, seasonal, and yearly lives.
The association of the zodiac signs with the four elements is credited to the ancient Greek philosopher Ptolemy. In his 2nd-century work Tetrabiblos, he aligned the twelve signs with the elements, a system still used in modern astrology.
- Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - representing passion and action
- Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - representing stability and practicality
- Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - representing intellect and communication
- Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - representing emotion and intuition
The minor arcana in the tarot connects the different suits to the different elements, where each element is connected to one of the suits - cups (water), pentacles (earth), wands (Fire) and swords (Air).
Within the chakra system, the elements are associated with each of the four lower chakras and if they are out of alignment or balance can affect the higher chakras: The Base/Root with Earth, The Sacral with the Water Element, The Solar Plexus with the Fire Element, The Air Element with the Heart Chakra.
The Flower Codes, which I have been studying and work with in our balms and sprays, also have certain codes that, even though they contain all the elements, have properties that are more strongly associated with one of the elements, like Calendula with Fire, or Rue with Water, Elder with Air or Patchouli with Earth
Science regards the four elements as no longer being the building blocks of the universe (their being 118 different elements in the periodic table), but it is hard to ignore their importance when they seem to be fundamentally connected to so many of the cycles that we live through in this spiral of life that we are travelling.
Through exploring so many of these different cycles, I have come to my own view on each element, they may not exactly be as others think, but they fit in with what I have found to be true for me.
I will now explore each of the elements. See further articles in my Musings.
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