The classical elements (most familiarly earth, water, air and fire), are the basic qualities into which many traditions sort the material world. The four-element scheme runs from the pre-Socratic philosophers through Aristotle into medieval medicine, alchemy and astrology; other traditions count differently, with five in the Chinese wu xing, the Indian mahabhuta and the Japanese godai. Elements are among the most heavily cross-referenced things in the Atlas: signs, suits, humours, directions and temperaments all hang off them.
Facts
Overview
- Entries in the Atlas
- 10
- Size of the Traditional Set
- Four, with aether as a fifth, heavenly element Greek philosophy 1
- Size of the Traditional Set
- Five phases: wood, fire, earth, metal and water Chinese 2
Origins
- Origin Period
- c. 450 BCE: the four roots of Empedocles of Akragas Greek philosophy 1
- Origin Period
- Systematised in the Warring States period, c. 4th-3rd century BCE Chinese 2
- Place of Origin
- The Greek world; Empedocles of Akragas, in Sicily Greek philosophy 1
Structure
- Structure
- Four elements, earth, water, air and fire, which Aristotle derived from pairings of the qualities hot, cold, wet and dry, with aether as a fifth, heavenly element. Greek philosophy 1
- Structure
- Five phases, wood, fire, earth, metal and water, in generating and conquering cycles, correlated with the directions, seasons, colours and organs. Chinese 2
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The Classical Elements
The classical elements (most familiarly earth, water, air and fire), are the basic qualities into which many traditions sort the material world. The four-element scheme runs from the pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles through Aristotle, who paired them with the qualities hot, cold, wet and dry, into medieval medicine, alchemy, astrology and magic. A fifth, the quintessence or aether, was often added as the heavenly element.
The elements are among the most productive of all the correspondence schemes: signs, temperaments, humours, directions, seasons and much else are sorted under the four, so that the elements become a common language linking many systems.
Four, Five and Beyond
Other traditions divide differently, the Indian and Buddhist systems count five great elements, adding ether or space, and each scheme carries a distinct logic of how the world's basic constituents relate, not merely a different count. This category presents both the Western elements and the Chinese wu xing, the five phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), each entry labelled with the system it belongs to so the two are not confused.
The atlas gives each element its qualities and its correspondences. The Japanese godai and the Indian tattvas are treated in their own categories, within Eastern Systems and the body section.
Enter a year to compare these entries as the atlas records them at that moment. Leave it empty for the present. A year before the common era is entered with a minus sign, so 44 BCE is minus 44.