NOTE: In this page, I have made a distinction between capitalizing the elements and not capitalizing them. A capitalized element (Air, Fire, Water) refers to the elemental energy. An uncapitalized element (air, fire, water) refers to the physical manifestation of that elemental energy. Earth is always capitalized because it is not only en elemental energy, it is a planet.  I made this differentiation to call attention to the difference between actual air, fire and water and the elemental energies of air, fire, and water.

    The elements, like deities, are a division the universal energy that surrounds us. The elements are most commonly divided into the four elements originally created by the Greeks: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. A fifth element, now known as Spirit or Akasha, was traditionally called ether - it was scientifically known as what filled the space between matter. The Chinese elements are rarely used, but are sometimes mentioned, and these are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The Greek elements were also associated with the four humors, at the time believed to be the four basic elements of the body, which also have definitions for personality. Air was associated with yellow bile or choler (yellow); this humor was choleric (easily angered, bad-tempered). Fire was associated with blood (red), and it was sanguine (cheerfully confidant, optimistic, passionate). Water was associated with phlegm (green), and it was phlegmatic (unemotional; a calm, sluggish temperament). Earth was associated with black bile (black), and was melancholic (sullenness, depression, sadness). Illness (mental or physical) was interpreted as an imbalance of the humors, and a person whose personality was predominated by one of the four types of behavior was thought to have too much of that particular humor in their body. We do not currently associate these colors and properties with their respective elements, but a little background information never hurt anyone.

    The common properties that we now use when referring to the elements (namely, hot, cold, wet, and dry) were conceived of by Aristotle. He saw the elements as combinations of these four qualities. Air is hot and wet, fire is hot and dry, water is cold and wet, and earth is cold and dry. Contemporary placement of these elements on the altar somewhat confuses these boundaries, as put forward by Aristotle. Below are two figures that represent this. The figure on the left shows the divisions based on Aristotle's theory, and the figure on the left shows the common contemporary placement of the elements on the altar.

           

    As you can see, the divisions drawn between the elements in the left figure cannot be drawn in the same way on the right. The elements are ordered differently in relation to one another. A division between hot and cold can be drawn on the right, but not between wet and dry. One should not take this to mean that the altar orientation is incorrect just because of this, however. Yes, Aristotle's theory is very old and makes sense; but Aristotle also thought that the Earth was flat, so just because the idea is old doesn't make it correct. The main idea to keep in mind is that there is no correct or incorrect in magick - there is only what works and what doesn't, and that differs from person to person. The elements are arranged on the altar in this way for a good reason. The sun is born in the east, bringing warmth and light, as inspiration is born in our minds. Fire is in the south, which is the path of the sun in the northern hemisphere. The sun sets into the water in the west at dusk, a time of reflection and emotion, both commonly associated with water. Night is the earth, cold and hard and dark, as caves are, and this is placed in the north, opposite the light of the sun (in the south) and in harmony with the North Star (our star of orientation and heavenly direction).

    The colors of the elements is something I myself very recently wondered about. Why yellow for Air? Air isn't yellow. The sun isn't red, as the fire element is associated with. Yes water is blue, and plants are green, but dirt is brown, and much of the Earth is made up of various metals, so why isn't Earth brown or gray? The answer, for me, came as a result of a psychology class I took recently at university, entitled "Sensation and Perception." Blue, red, green, and yellow are the four colors that our eyes are tuned to see. We are specially designed to detect these colors above all others (other colors being simple combinations of these, as interpreted by our brains), because our environments made these colors most important during our evolution. Yellow is opposed by blue and red is opposed by green (and although I have labeled "Air" in black rather than yellow for the purpose of reading it more easily, you will notice that the altar places these colors opposing one another). Air may not be yellow, but light in our environment is (predominantly), and so it makes sense to associate this color with the Air and the East, the place of the rising sun which brings us light. Fire is red because fire is hot, and we associate red with hot (hot coals are red, hot metal is red). The heart is the seat of passion, and the source of distributing blood to the rest of our body, and it too is red. The Greek association of fire with blood and passion has not altogether lost its popularity; we may say that, when we are angry, our blood boils. Water is often perceived as blue; it is a cooling, calming color, as water often is to us on a hot day, or when we are thirsty. Blue affects us emotionally, sometimes adding to or creating depression, or causing a generally emotional state - your emotional self is that part of you that identifies with the Water element. And, although the Earth itself isn't green, what we see of it is. We don't see the molten core or the layers of rock - we see the trees and bushes and plants and flowers. We see the growth that the Earth facilitates and sustains, and so Earth energy is associated with the green of plants and growth.

    As for more direct correspondences, the following may be of use:

   The fifth element, Spirit, completes the pentacle as it pertains to the elements, as shown below.

    Spirit is at the center of the circle, unifying it. It is our link to other planes of existence, and is the part of us that exists on planes other than the physical (that which our sense allow us to experience). It is commonly represented as white, which is a combination of all the colors.

    Air and Fire correspond with the God and are masculine, and the Water and Earth correspond to the Goddess and are feminine. Teach element also has elementals associated with it. These are: sylphs for Air, salamanders for Fire, undines for Water, and gnomes for Earth. The magickal symbols for the elements are as follows: the wand for Air, the sword (or athame) for Fire, the cup or chalice for Water, and the pentacle for Earth. Keep in mind that some traditions disagree here, placing the sword with Air and the wand with Fire. I prefer the reverse, simply because, to me, it doesn’t make sense to represent Fire with a tool that is so easily destroyed by fire (wood). Therefore, the sword seems more appropriate for the Fire element to me, but it’s a matter of personal choice. You should explore each of these tools yourself, and decide which energy each seems to express when you work with them.

    It is important to note that the literal interpretations of the elements (actual air, fire, water, and earth) are not the whole story. These are symbolic, physical representations of these elements on alternate planes. This is why the characteristics of the elements, as we experience them, are so important. As physical representations, they contain all the characteristics of the elements, but they are bound by physical restraints. Nonetheless, they can be very powerful (as anyone who’s experienced a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, or wildfire knows), and should not be treated as unimportant. It’s important to get a sense for your relationship with each of the elements on a physical level in order to aide your work with them on other levels. Some of us are more comfortable with one element or another (sometimes more), and it can be critical for your magickal workings to understand your own abilities with them.

    For example, I am not a “Fire person.” I am deeply grounded in Earth, and my initial clumsiness with fire posed a working problem. (For example, the first spell I ever performed worked immediately and wonderfully, but I almost set my living room on fire!) I had difficulty containing fire, and even candle flames actually gravitated toward my skin when I was doing altar work. I knew I wouldn’t be as effective in my magick if I didn’t do something about it. I did several things to work through my discomfort: I performed Fire meditations and explored the Fire element mentally, I spend several nights working only with fire, lighting candles and exploring the interaction the flames had with me on a physical level, performing free association writing regarding Fire, and studying the historical and contemporary meanings of the Fire element. I realized that I was frightened of Fire, due to my own personality and personal energy (being a solid, dependable, earthy type person) and its conflict with the Fire element (which is generally unpredictable, and can be uncontrollable and dangerous). I am now comfortable working with Fire, although I know that my personal energy may never allow me to work as well with it as I do with Earth.

    There are a few very simple ways to get in touch with the essence of the elements on a physical level. To experience air, stand on a hill or mountain, close your eyes, and feel the wind blowing against your body. To experience fire, light a candle (or make a fire in your fireplace, if you have one), close your eyes and explore the sensations of warmth with your hands and body (don't burn yourself!). Some meditations recommend looking into the flame of a candle, but this can damage your eyes; also, your visual sense will detract from your tactile (touch) sense, which is what you're using to experience the heat of fire. To experience water, close your eyes as you stand in the shower or lay in the bath. If you're in the bath, move your limbs and body underwater, and feel the currents against your skin as you do. To experience earth, sit under a tree with your back against a trunk (preferably a tree with no ants!) and close your eyes, feeling the strength of the Earth beneath you and the trunk at your back. You can also lie in the grass with eyes closed, smelling and touching the Earth beneath you.

    If you'd like to perform visualizations to experience the elements, visit the Visualization section. The last link below is a meditation: