 |
This page deals with:
All of the signs have the quality of one of the four elements. These are called the
triplicities because they are a a group of three signs. For example, Aries, Leo and
Sagittarius are a group of three fire signs. The table below shows the Signs and the
corresponding elements:
| Element |
Keywords |
Signs |
| Fire |
Forcefully |
Aries |
Leo |
Sagittarius |
| Earth |
Practically |
Taurus |
Virgo |
Capricorn |
| Air |
Thoughtfully |
Gemini |
Libra |
Aquarius |
| Water |
Emotionally |
Cancer |
Scorpio |
Pisces |
The fire signs all share the quality of fire, and the other signs share the qualities
of earth, air and water respectively.
The fire signs all have some element of "forcefulness" in them. The Earth
signs are "practical and down-to-earth". The Air signs are "thoughtful or
intellectual". And the water signs are "emotional".
| Element |
Keywords |
Jung |
Hippocrates |
Plato |
Paracelsus |
Knowing |
Fire
 |
Action |
Intuitive |
Choleric |
Imagination |
Salamander |
Insights/ Cognitions |
Earth
 |
Practical |
Sensation |
Melancholic |
Demonstration |
Gnome |
Opportunities/ Methods |
Air
 |
Intellectual |
Thinking |
Sanguine |
Intelligence |
Sylph |
Concepts/ Reasoning |
Water  |
Emotional |
Feeling |
Phlegmatic |
Opinion |
Undine |
Feelings |
Here are some more correspondences:
| Element |
Directions |
Physical Sense |
Mental |
Spirit |
Illumination |
Bodies |
Density |
| Fire |
South |
Sight |
Understanding |
Spiritual |
Light |
Animals |
Light |
| Earth |
North |
Feeling/ Touch |
The Senses |
Grounded |
Dark |
Stones |
Heavy |
| Air |
East |
Sound |
Reason |
Mind |
Dark |
Plants |
Light |
| Water |
West |
Smell/ Taste |
Memory |
Psychic |
Dark |
Metals |
Heavy |
The Salamanders, gnomes, sylphs and nymphs are "mythical" creatures that
inhabit and maintain the elements. A salamander a being that lives in fire. It also refers
to a being that can stand a lot of heat. The word is used for an inhabitant of the element
fire who performs world-building tasks related to the element fire.
A gnome is a "mythical" being that lives in the ground in caves. They are
reputed to guard buried treasure. Not surprisingly, the word is sometimes applied to
international bankers. The word is used to refer to beings of the earth who perform tasks
related to the element earth.
Sylphs are creatures of the air, sometimes called nymphs of the air. The word is used
to refer to inhabitants of the element air who perform world-building tasks related to the
element air.
Undines are creatures of the water, and are said to live beneath the waves. They
are sometimes called water nymphs. The word is used to refer to the inhabitants of the
element water who perform tasks related to that element.
The use of the four elements is attributed to Ptolemy.
Fire tends to go upwards, and can raise things into the clouds and
beyond. The sun and the stars are fire - high in the sky! Fire cannot truly be confined,
although it can be controlled. Even so, it eventually escapes into the sky. Not
surprisingly, fire is associated with spirit, high ideals. Fire ideas can be very distant
from the ideas of this Earth. While fire consumes, it also creates new life (forest fires
remove the old and enable the new - some plants even wait for the fire to release their
seeds!). Of all the elements, fire captures our attention the most. Archetypal fire goes
high above the earth, is consuming, clinging and captivating and creates the new and
removes the old.
Fire is raw energy.
Fiery people have high spirits, great self-confidence, enthusiasm,
and direct honesty and openness. They project a radiant,
vitalising energy that glows warmly. They need a good deal of freedom
to express themselves so they can insist on their own point of view. They are consumed
- even entranced - by whatever they do. They are motivated by excitement, insight and
intuition. That is, they get an idea which captivates them. They do not consider rational
or logical thinking or practical feasibility. The idea comes to them fully formed and full
of power. While the idea may grow over a period of time, it does not grow logically but
intuitively. Sometimes fiery people do not know why they must do what they must do!
Fire appears as if from nowhere, it grabs everyone's attention, and forces its
way through almost everything, consuming the air, evaporating the water and chars the
earth. Even the rocks are scorched or even melted (larva).
Not surprisingly, fire people are assertive, individualistic,
active and self-expressive. Fire sign energies can stimulate others, but they can also
overpower and exhaust them. Good natured and fun-loving, they may have many friends. They
are generous with their time, energy, and resources. They value having a good time above
material possessions. They are generous but egoistic. Fiery people may believe so strongly
in their own powers and abilities that they fail to notice the powers and abilities of
others. This may mean that they do not give others the credit they deserve, or it may be
that they underestimate their opponents. They believe that "If you want a job done
well, then do it yourself". However, they belong to a group that is the most daring
and capable inspiring natural leaders. They lead from the front. In war or business, they
are out in the front leading the way. They are independent and individualistic leaders,
rarely consulting others before they act. In fact, they may not even think things through
to themselves, because their mode of thought is intuitive. They are always "on
stage" and need to be recognised and admired for their attainment and
accomplishments. They consider being appreciated more important than being rich. Nothing
hurts them more than being ignored. The fire sign sense of honesty is straightforward and
often child-like. They believe everyone is like themselves an open book. This may lead
them to be gullible and naÔve, or to others exploiting their openness.
The earth element represents matter. Everything in the universe is made of matter. You
can touch what exists and often see or hear it. Earth is real and objective because it is
perceivable by the five senses. Everything that exists in the universe is either earth or
water. For anything to manifest, it must contain the elements earth or water.
Of all the elements, the earth element is the most easy to confine and capture, to hold
in the hand. It is rigid, fixed and stable. Anything that is attainable
is "down to earth" and not "airy fairy", or "high in the
sky". Archetypal earth is real, heavy, and the basis of all achievement. It is the
foundation of all that is. Like the real earth, it is fixed, stable, organised and
predictable. It is limited and disciplined.
Of all the elements, it is the earth that can be possessed and owned.
It provides a solid basis for our existence (dependable and stable), yet it can rise only
so far. And the higher it rises (a bolder on a mountain), the farther it has to fall,
making it cautious. Unlike the other elements, it cannot easily rise and almost never
disappears.
Earthy people are, therefore, cautious, premeditative, conventional and
dependable. They live by a practical, common-sense code and seek physical
wellbeing rather than spiritual enlightenment, or to rise high. The expression "down
to earth" sums them up. They are responsible, methodical, and concerned with detail.
Children of the earth element are therefore well suited to life on this planet. They are
realistic, builders and hard workers. They are pragmatic, materialistic
and reductionist - they reduce everything to what is practical, useful and observable.
They particularly value skills and abilities. Earth types are successful business people
in the sense that they can stably maintain things. While the fiery type is an innovator,
the earth type is cautious and practical, being more interested in established business
activities than new innovative ones. Imagination to an earth type is of realistic
representations of the five senses (or a few of them). They think about what is, rather
than what might be. In a way, they lack imagination. They can be too fixed to rules,
regulations and procedures.
While air is light, it pervades everything on earth. For a long way into the sky and
even in deep caves there is air. Air rises, but not as much as fire. Like fire, air is
difficult to control or to capture. It is (nearly) always free. Yet it links everything to
everything else. Air is associated with words and language. Language and words are
essentially verbal, and speech requires air. It has a serial quality. You can blow air
from one position to another. For example, you can direct the breath to blow away some
dust - the air moves from the mouth to the position of the dust. Language requires that
words are uttered in a particular sequence, and the basis of logic is within language.
(You cannot prove logic!) For most of human history, the air was the motive force of
transport (sailing ships) and a major source of power (windmills).
Archetypal air is associated with language, logic, communication and
transport. It loves freedom, and if captured, it will escape at the first
opportunity. (If you capture it in a balloon, it will seep out or explode out whenever it
can). Air is also associated with the interrelationships (links) between people and
things.
So one keyword is "linking":
- logic links ideas,
- language links words,
- transport links places, and
- words link to ideas.
In order to link ideas together, we need to use abstraction or generalisation to some
degree. So like fire, air can be abstract, although because it is closer to the earth, it
is less "up in the sky" than fire (although it is "up in the air", and
abstract sometimes) Although air is everywhere, it remains air, although it does unite
with objects and things in the world, but not as fast as fire. So the archetypal air can
be objective and a bit impersonal. It is social because it is everywhere, but the
associations are not as deep as those of water, or as lasting as those of earth.
Air people are concerned with thought, ideas and intellect. They are detached and
objective. They can be versatile and agile in communications. But they might not
accomplish their promises or goals unless they are grounded in earth. They are the
theory people in the "theory versus practice" debate. Nonetheless, while the air
people are less practical than those of the earth, they are more practical and objective
than the other two signs.They can become dreamers, thinking and planning, but not
applying. Air people are reflective and think things through logically before they
implement their ideas. They can be procrastinators, but they rarely make mistakes through
lack of thought. They tend not to be emotional, but they are fair minded and consider
other's viewpoints. They are group rather than person oriented. They love humanity, but
are not that close to individuals. They have varied interests and could become perpetual
students.
Water, like earth, is heavy, and falls to the earth. It is less easily constrained than
earth, but more easily than fire or air. Yet water can rise up into the air (although it
often falls again as rain.) Unlike fire and air, it forms a flat surface, therefore, like
earth, it has some form. It is therefore less limited than the earth, but
more limited than fire and air. While fire cannot be contained, it disappears if you
totally enclose it, and air expands to fill any container, water is more limited and keeps
it volume, and has a level. While fire cannot destroy the earth, water can. It is the
universal solvent that has the potential to make everyone one, without destroying that
which it unites. Water can rise high with the help of air, but generally doesn't move
upwards. Water is extremely powerful, and will always find its own level. If artificially
constrained at a high level, it will eventually break free, but then it will fall. Water
is impressionable and reflective. It can go deep.
Archetypal water refers to the feelings and the emotions.
It refers to the unconscious mind.
Normally water is cold, that is, it absorbs energy. It takes in the energy of others.
Water is more sensitive than the other elements in that it can appear in the three forms
of matter: solid like the earth; liquid - its normal state - and as vapour - like air.
Water people are very sensitive
to their own feelings and those of others. They perceive life through their emotions. They
are concerned with what feels right, with their hunches or impressions, rather than with
what is practical or rational. They use the emotions, not the intellect, to
understand and to value. Water can raise people to the heights of bliss, but can bring
them down to the depths of despair.
Water rises into the air and falls as rain,
nurturing the land. The earth absorbs it to become fertile. We can go for weeks without
food, but only days without water. Living things need water. With it they grow and mature.
Without it they die.
Water people need close emotional relationships,
and rarely have superficial affairs. They can be volatile. They are romantic, sentimental
and affectionate. They can be very nurturing and very possessive with their family and
spouse. They have fixed opinions. They communicate in non-verbal ways; emotionally,
psychically, or through forms as art, dance, music, poetry and photography. Their beliefs
are based on feelings rather than on reason, passion or practicality. .
Ether refers to the exchange mechanism between the material universe and spirit. The
Nodes of the Moon refer to the ether. Ether is not part of the traditional system.
See also the triplicities for more information on the
elements.
|
