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Building Blocks of Life

In Astrology, when you talk about the Elements, you're not talking about the Periodic Table. The Ancient Greeks believed that the world was made up of 4 elements: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. This same idea was found throughout the ancient world in many religions, cultures, and mythologies including Wicca. Of course today we know of elements as being very different in character but the theory still holds in a way. This 4 Element idea, when applied to the world around us, often makes a great deal of sense.

As you may have read on my other Astro pages, these elements have "polarities," meaning they are masculine or feminine, positive or negative. They are associated with the 4 directions of a compass, the times of the day, seasons of the year, phases of the moon, and the 4 suits in a Tarot card deck. In Wicca, the elements are associated with certain tools used in magick-making, certain nature spirits, called Elementals, and certain kinds of spells. In Astrology, they can be compared to the 4 personality types. You can be "down-to-earth," "air-headed," "fiery," or "wishy-washy" as it were.

In the pagan religion Wicca, there is a 5th element added to this. As Fire, Earth, Air, and Water are all seen as physical elements, the 5th is called Spirit, the non-physical, spiritual and emotional element. They called this element "Heart" on the environment-friendly cartoon Captain Planet. In the awesome Sci-Fi movie The 5th Element, it was Love, at least the way I interpreted the movie. The element Spirit actually is all of that combined. It is the inner power that combines with the power of the 4 elements of nature to make magick possible.

Chinese Astrology also has 5 elements but they are quite different from Western elements. They are Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood. They will also have descriptions on this page after the Western ones.

Air
Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Planets: Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus
Polarity: Masculine
Colors: Light blues and yellows
Wicca Color: Pure yellow
Ancient Celtic Color: Red (representing the red light of sunrise)
Celtic Name: ?
Wind Direction (In Gaelic): Aiet
Time of Day: Sunrise, Morning
Moon Phase: First Quarter (Waxing Quarter)
Compass Direction: East
Season: Spring
Climate: Warm and wet
Elementals: Sylphs, Zephyrs, fairies
Christian/Tarot Animal: The Man, The Angel, Cherabim
Tarot Suit: Swords (a.k.a. Daggers, Knives, Sabers, etc.)
Magickal Tools: Incense, oils, the magick wand, creative visualization
Natural Symbols: Wind, clouds, breezes, breath, vibrations, plants, herbs, flowers, trees, wind storms, tornadoes, hurricanes
Characteristics: Communicative, mobile, pleasure in learning and transmitting, volatile, talkative, needing variety, inquisitive, interactive, versatile, gregarious, optimism, joy, intelligent, mental quickness, frivolity, gossip, fickleness, inattention, bragging, forgetfulness.
Rituals: Knowledge, inspiration, hearing, harmony, herbal knowledge, plant growth, intellect, thought, ideas, travel, freedom, revealing the truth, finding lost things, movement, psychic abilities.

Fire
Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Planets: Sun, Mars, Jupiter
Polarity: Masculine
Colors: Reds, oranges, yellows, golds
Wicca Color: Pure Red
Ancient Celtic Color: White (representing the heat and light of the midday sun)
Celtic Name: Tan, Teine
Wind Direction (In Gaelic): Deas
Time of Day: Noon, Afternoon
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Compass Direction: South
Season: Summer
Climate: Warm and Dry
Elementals: Salamanders, Firedrakes, creatures of flames and sunbeams
Christian/Tarot Animal: The Lion
Tarot Suit: Wands (a.k.a. Staffs, Spears, Sticks, Staves, etc.)
Magickal Tools: Candles or lamps, dagger, sometimes burning incense
Natural Symbols: Lightning, volcanoes, rainbows, Sun, stars, blood
Characteristics: Willpower, impulse, initiative, courage, energy, activity, adventure, enthusiasm, daring, directness, self-orientation, uncooperativeness, objectiveness, frankness and uncomplicatedness, impatience, competitiveness, spontaneity, self-reliance, hate, jealousy, fear, anger, war, ego, conflict.
Rituals: Freedom, change, sight, perception, vision, illumination, learning, love, will, passion, sexuality, energy, authority, healing, destruction, purification.

Water
Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Planets: Moon, Pluto, Neptune, Mars, Jupiter
Polarity: Feminine
Colors: Medium and dark blues, turquoise, sea green, gray, silver
Wicca Color: Pure Blue
Ancient Celtic Color: Gray (representing the dimmed light of twilight)
Celtic Name: ?
Wind Direction (In Gaelic): Iar
Time of Day: Twilight, evening
Moon Phase: Third Quarter (Waning Quarter)
Compass Direction: West
Season: Autumn
Climate: Cold and wet
Elementals: Nymphs, Undines, Mer-people, creatures of rivers, lakes, ponds, springs, wells, and streams
Christian/Tarot Animal: The Eagle
Tarot Suit: Cups (a.k.a. Chalices, Goblets, Cauldrons, Flasks, etc.)
Magickal Tools: Chalice or goblet, cauldron, Holy Water, mirrors, the sea
Natural Symbols: Oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, wells, ponds, springs, rain, mist, fog, floods, rainstorms, whirlpools, waterfalls
Characteristics: Emotional, seeking safety, security, and closeness, super-sensitive, very defensive, moody, family-oriented, maternal, protective, intuitive, romantic, sensuous, sentimental, cautious, retentive, tenacious, imaginative, compassion, peacefulness, forgiveness, love, laziness, indifference, instability, lack of emotional control, insecurity.
Rituals: Plants, healing, emotions, taste, smell, absorbing, communion with the spiritual, purification the subconscious mind, love, emotions, pleasure, friendships, marriage, fertility, happiness, sleep, dreams, the psychic.

Earth
Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Planets: Venus, Mercury, Saturn
Polarity: Feminine
Colors: Browns, greens, and other "earthy" colors
Wicca Color: Clear, dark Green
Ancient Celtic Color: Black (representing the darkness of midnight)
Celtic Name: ?
Wind Direction (In Gaelic): Tuath
Time of Day: Midnight
Moon Phase: New Moon (Dark Moon)
Compass Direction: North
Season: Winter
Climate: Cold and dry
Elementals: Gnomes, dwarfs, creatures of moonbeams
Christian/Tarot Animal: The Bull, The Ox
Tarot Suit: Pentacles (a.k.a. Coins, Discs, Shields, Wheels, etc.)
Magickal Tools: Salt, pentacle, stones, gems, trees, cords
Natural Symbols: Mountains, rocks, gemstones, caves, soil, fields, plains, mines, earthquakes, slides
Characteristics: Steadfastness, striving for security, sustaining, subjectivity, hard-working, patience, productivity, conformist, conservative, cautiousness, rigidity, uncompromising, respect, endurance, responsibility, stability, thoroughness, purpose in life, stubbornness, lack of conscience, vacillation, unwillingness to change.
Rituals: Riches, treasures, surrendering, self-will, touch, empathing, incorporation, business, prosperity, employment, stability,success, fertility, money.

Spirit
Signs: None
Planets: Earth
Polarity: Masculine and Feminine
Colors: black, white, silver
Wicca Color: White
Ancient Celtic Color: ?
Celtic Name: Nyu
Wind Direction (In Gaelic): N/A
Time of Day: N/A
Moon Phase: N/A
Compass Direction: The Center
Season: N/A
Climate: N/A
Elementals: All Nature Spirits
Christian/Tarot Symbol: God/Goddess/Archangel/Holy Spirit
Tarot Suit: Major Arcana a.k.a. The Journey of the Fool
Magickal Tools: The person doing the magick.
Natural Symbols: All of Nature
Characteristics: A combination of the powers of the preceding 4 elements within Nature and a person connecting with Nature. The inner power and will of the person.
Rituals: ?