Watchtower magic and wicca claim:
Celtic cross tarot claims :
Chinese acupuncture claims there are five elements:
Indian tradition uses 5 elements, Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Ether, with variations between Hinduism and Ayurveda, and variable elemental deities and correspondences before and after the Aryan invasion, ...
Note a very important difference between Plato and the other systems: the progression is linear, from fire to earth, from spirit to matter: therefore, Plato correspondences are suitable for linear events, but not for circular ones, just like seasons, ... the other approaches are better in this case.
Aristotle claims :
|Warm, Male, Yang||Cold,
Note this model suits to circular seasonal systems. Since fire is dry and warm, it corresponds to summer, water is cold and moist, it corresponds to winter, air is hot and moist just like the spring, whereas autumn is dry and colder than summer...
Several old texts claim this correspondence:
"The year is divided into four seasons; the first season is of a frigid complexion, and this is Winter; the second is of the complexion of air, and this is Spring; then follows the third, which is summer, and is of the complexion of fire; lastly, there is the fourth, wherein fruits are matured, which is Autumn" The Turba philosophorum
Next step, King Salomon explained to his son (KEY OF SOLOMON):
"Upon the first Series of talismans thou shalt engrave the Letter Yod,
symbolized by the Flowering Rod of Aaron.
Upon the second the Letter Hé, symbolized by the Cup of Joseph.
Upon the third the Letter Vau, symbolized by the Sword of David my father.
And upon the fourth the Hé final, symbolized by the Shekel of Gold."
That is to say :
|Y||Rod of Aaron||one makes fire with a rod||Fire/Summer||Tarot Rods|
|H||Cup of Joseph||one drinks Water in a cup||Water/Winter||Tarot Cups|
|v||Sword of David, my father||one fight in the air with a sword||Air/Spring/Father||Tarot Swords|
|h||Shekel of Gold||the shekel is related to materialism, matter, earth||Earth/Autumn||Tarot Shekels|
Note that there is an imperfection, since it's usually accepted that Y is the father, H the mother, v the son, and the last h the daughter (Tetragrammaton YHVH) :
That's why we'll choose better correspondences :
"Upon the first Series of talismans thou shalt engrave the Letter Yod, symbolized by the Sword of David my father.
Upon the second the Letter Hé, symbolized by the Shekel of Gold.
Upon the third the Letter Vau, symbolized by the Flowering Rod of Aaron.
And upon the fourth the Hé final, symbolized by the Cup of Joseph."
|Y||Sword of David, my father||one fight in the air with a sword||Air/Spring/Father||Tarot Swords|
|H||Shekel of Gold||the shekel is related to materialism, matter, earth||Earth/Autumn||Tarot Shekels|
|v||Rod of Aaron||one makes fire with a rod||Fire/Summer||Tarot Rods|
|h||Cup of Joseph||one drinks Water in a cup||Water/Winter||Tarot Cups|
"fruits are matured [in] Autumn" The Turba philosophorum is another way to say that autumn corresponds to the Mother, giving birth to the fruits = children.
We advance correspondences:
Of course it is just symbol.
Now, take into account the tree of life model we have previously developed :
And let's use the previous correspondences:
Spirit corresponds to the Father(Y)/(Heavens) Air/Spring/Swords/David,
Matter to the Mother(H)/Earth/Autumn/Shekels/Gold
Yang corresponds to Son(v)/Fire/Summer/Rods/Aaron
yin corresponds to Daughter(h)/Water/Winter/Cups/Joseph
As we pointed out, Spirit is more active (Yang) than Matter (yin).
There are several ways to check the reliability of this model:
1. -join the parents, you'll get a first Star of David
- join the children, you'll get a second star
join both stars, you'll get a double Star of David:
2.this model with elements rotating was know long before Aristotle; here is a fragment of Empedocles, more than one century before Aristotle :
"The mighty air propels him to the sea,
The water throws him to the earth, and earth
To sunlight's fire, who yields to whirling air." (read more)
This is one of the more ancient source and it perfectly suits the model.
3. as we will see in a future article, this model is especially designed for the alchemical Great Work.
4. there are many ways to introduce a 5th element, and to make it correspond with china 5 elements theory
5. there are also links with Ayurveda, Paracelse, ....
Two important charts: It is not possible to understand the alchemical Great Work without understanding them.
And what about Cardinal Points ?
Look closely at the Sphinx, the Temple of Solomon, ... Most major spiritual Temples were facing East, which suggests the correspondences :
Let's report East/South/West/North on the elemental model :
The correspondences are very reliable, since north is obviously winter and yin (in the north hemisphere, were Israel and Ancient Civilizations lived), south is summer and Yang. More, it is well known that in the Ancient Times East symbolized Spirit, Enlightenment, ...
And what about Masculine and Feminine Sephiroths (not exterior elements and influences, but inner sephiroths) ?
Here is my opinion :
One exercise as a conclusion : Elemental Meditation : feel the air above your head; visualize this air purifying you of all your diseases, Karma and negative thoughts. Feel the strength of fire in your right hand, giving you the energy to fight and overcome any obstacles. Feel the quietness of water flowing on the left side of your body and bringing you the peace of mind. Feel the earth below you bringing stability.
Do you have any question related to this issue ?
Or any question related to :
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Alchemical Great Work
Kundalini Awakening : Kundalini Yoga Rising Course
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