Long before Mendeleev and the periodic table of elements, that we all know and love, people believed that everything was built from four elemental energies; earth, air, fire, and water. Pagans still believe in those but not in a way you would think. As we are, and always have been, closely related to progress and growth, we put our knowledge and intellect in the hands of science but keep our spirit and emotions somewhere else.

Elements have nothing to do with the building of the physical world, they are building something entirely different. They are building inner worlds of beings, they are frequencies and correspondences that help us understand and connect the dots between various things.

Elements can be seen as four forces that move and shape our reality. When you want to evolve as a person and grow, you will pick from different elements to build what you want. Every element has many things that are in its domain. In this post, I will try to bring some of those things that different elements are in charge of. For more information, you can read various books that have been published. I recommend "Earth, Air, Fire & Water" by Scott Cunningham.

In the ancient times, all cultures had elemental forces. In Greece, they were proposed by Empedocles but Aristotle added the fifth; aether. In India, something very similar to aether is Akasha or the spirit. From Babylonia to Japan, people had different lists of elements. China had 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, just as Tibet that had earth, fire, water, air, and space. Let us move on to paganism and how pagans see their Elements.

Earth is the ultimate female element and it corresponds to the direction of North. It is associated with the Goddess and it is very common among pagans to refer to this planet as "Mother Earth".

Earth is solid and stable. It represents strength and its colors are green and brown. Her attributes are fertility, stability and nurturing. When we look at the horoscope, we have three signs that are connected to Earth; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. When we speak of the manifestation of this element, we talk about gravity.

There are a lot of natural symbols for Earth, salt is the most common one but we also use rocks, acorns, and wheat. Caves, canyons, and forests are places where you will fell the best connection to it, but a garden will do just fine. If you are playing drums, you are playing its musical instrument. Earth is quiet and her energy is passive.

Winter is the time of the year that belongs to Earth and touch is her sense. In Tarot, Pentacles are associated to her and regarding the stones, we have peridot and emerald. If you are interested in the time of the day, night is the best choice.

Earth connects us with our roots and our ancestors just as it represents a manifestation of our wishes and desires. It holds great wisdom and heritage and will always be there for us as a supporting mother.

Water is used for cleansing and purification and it is the second female element. It coresponds to the direction of West and its biggest attribute is the connection to our emotions.

Besides actual water that we see all around us in nature, metals are watery things too. This element is flowing, just like our emotions, all of our emotions. It is purifying and soothing and it brings a sense of love and healing. In horoscope, water signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

Color of this element is blue and its energy, just like that of Earth, is receptive. When you are hearing or playing with bells, you are hearing water musical tools. Correspondance in Tarot cards is the deck of cups.

It is, as with any other element, easy to see water in nature. Symbols are cups, seashells and drops as the major places or natural things are rain, sea, lakes, streams and rivers. When you look at the sky, clouds are water too. Your tears, sweat, and blood are attributed to this element.

Like Earth represents our roots, Water represents our leaves, parts of us that we let go and then grow all over again. Its season is the autumn, time of day is dusk and the corresponding stones are amethyst, aquamarine, and blue tourmaline. Our sense of taste is connected to water too.

This is the element of our emotions but also our dreams and psychic awareness. It flows through us and brings peace after it cleans everything it touches. The first place we live in is water, inside our mother's womb. That is the first place we feel safe and pure.

Air is the main male element and it corresponds to the direction of East. This element represents our thoughts, knowledge, and imagination. This is the element of communication and wisdom.

Air is cheerful and playful, it is imaginative but is also a breath of life. It is fresh and new, and the signs that are of this element are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The main manifestation of this element is sound.

Air is moving us and it is never standing still. Its colors are white and light yellow. The energy of Air is projective, and its musical instruments are all wind instruments but the biggest representative is the flute.

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"Learn how to see.
Everything is connected to everything else."

Leonardo da Vinci

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Enjoy the beautiful song "Daughter of the Elements" by Lisa Thiel.

AIR moves us.
FIRE transforms us.
WATER shapes us.
EARTH heals us.

This article was exclusively written for Beyond the Veil. A newsletter that is prepared weekly, by a collection of people, containing articles surrounding the spiritual and the supernatural. To subscribe to the newsletter please follow @beyondtheveil, to stay updated about our community.

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