At its core, Western Esotericism has a powerful symbol stack: The elements, the planets, and the zodiac signs. Reflecting aspects of consciousness, these represent personal, interpersonal, and transpersonal realms. While seasoned practitioners work with all, the journey starts with the four elements: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.

In the previous video, we discussed the unicursal hexagram which can work that whole stack. In this one, we’ll focus on the Elements including:

  1. Their origins,
  2. Magickal technology,
  3. Symbolism, and
  4. Rituals.

Not Chemistry

Emerging from Ancient philosophy, the classical elements are not those of chemistry. Rather than atomic compositions, they are metaphysical concepts referring to states of existence. Liquids are represented by the Water Element, but ice, by Earth, as Water represents liquid, whereas Earth solids. Similarly, Fire is plasma, Air, gas, and Spirit, energy, as we’ll cover later.

Origins

The discovery of the four Elements is credited to Empedocles, who is considered a founder of science and philosophy. As a herbal magician, he referred to the ‘Elements’ as ‘roots,’ representing more than their names:

  • Earth: land, soil, ground.
  • Water: rain, moisture, the sea.
  • Air: clear sky, brilliance, mist.
  • Fire: flame, sunlight, lightning.

Eventually, Empedocles’ ideas became the foundation for Western mysticism.

Spiritual Essences

Empedocles viewed the Elements as spiritual essences, with micro and macrocosmic components across the material and the physical.

In Jungian analysis, they are universal structures (archetypes) that can be experienced but not fully explained. As covered later, they (also) are stages of transformation.

Qualities

Understanding the Elements is impossible without the works of Aristotle. Being a philosopher-polymath, Aristotle came up with the concept of powers or qualities forming each Element. That includes:

  • Warm or Hot,
  • Cool or Cold,
  • Dry, and
  • Moist or Wet.

Grouped as two pairs of opposites, these are evident in nature and seasons.

  1. Moist: Spring rains, new growth.
  2. Warm: Summer sun, vigor, maturity.
  3. Dry: Autumn leaves, stiffening stems.
  4. Cool: Winter chills, decline, and death.

The Square of Opposites

The interaction between Elemental powers is best depicted in the so-called ‘Square of Opposites or Elements.’ Aristotle believed that the Powers are absolutes, forming mixtures that are the Elements. For such reasons, he ascribed:

  • The Powers to the Square’s corners and,
  • The Elements to the spaces between.

He also recognized a ‘dominant power’ in each Element:

  • Earth: Dry and Cool (but dominantly Dry)
  • Water: Cool and Moist (but dominantly Cool)
  • Air: Moist and Warm (but dominantly Moist), and
  • Fire: Warm and Dry (but dominantly Warm)

Motion

The Square of Opposites reveals the Elements’ motion:

  • Air and Fire are active, light, and ascend.
  • Water and Earth are passive, heavy, and descend.

This opposing motion is anchored along the axis-mundi or the cosmic axis. That is

  • Earth’s axis between the celestial poles;
  • The rotation of the axis of the celestial and planetary spheres in a geocentric coordinate system.

Triangles

This brings us to the Elemental triangles found in Magickal books. Water flows steadily downward, pairing with Earth. Fire flows upward, coupling with Air.

  • Downward triangles reflect passivity, feminine nature, and descending motion.
  • Upward triangles express activity, masculine nature, rising motions, and
  • Crossbars indicate denser or grosser forms.

Transformation

Aristotle believed that the Elements transform based on mutual powers (or density). For example, Water (Cool and Moist) transforms into Air (Moist and Warm)

According to this theory, two opposing Elements can’t transform but require an element in between to share a quality with each other.

  • Fire – Air – Water.

Unity of Opposites

“There is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites.”
— Carl Jung

The Conjunction of Opposites is central to Alchemy and Jungian psychology. Jung proposed that the tension between opposing forces generates psychic energy driving transformation. A similar notion is emphasized by Viktor Frankl:

“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.”
— Viktor Frankl. Man’s Search for Meaning

These forces can neutralize each other, stagnate progress, or unite, creating the conditions for psychological growth and individuation.

While we’ll get into this in a moment, the best source for understanding the Elements’ origins is The Ancient Greek Doctrine of the Elements by John Opsopaus, which I highly recommend. Now, let’s proceed with recent technologies.

Golden Dawn and Thelema

Inspired by Paracelsus and Eliphas Levi, The Golden Dawn (and subsequently Thelema) fused the Elements with Qabalah and parts of the Enochian system. This changed everything.

Spirit

The first change is adding Spirit (Quintessence).

Spirit expresses itself through the Elements. So, understanding it depends on understanding them. Spirit has two aspects (or forms):

  1. Active Spirit, aka ‘Energy in pure form,’ and
  2. Passive Spirit aka ‘Matter in pure form’

Hence, the active and passive Spirit Pentagrams in rites like SRP.
In the words of Dion Fortune, Spirit and Matter are like ‘water and ice,’ the two conditions of the same thing. The other elements are states or degrees between them.

(…) matter is crystallized spirit, and spirit is volatilised matter (…) there is no difference of substance between them, any more than there is between water and ice, but both are different states of the One Thing, as the alchemists call it; this is the great secret of alchemy which forms the philosophic basis of the secret doctrine of transmutation.
— Dion Fortune. Mystical Qabalah

Fourfold Nature

The second change is ascribing the Elements to the Four Qabalistic worlds. That is:

  1. Fire, Atziluth, the pure urge to live and express,
  2. Water, Briah, or creative ideas and intuition,
  3. Air, Yetzirah or Formation organization, and finding ways to turn ideas into action, and
  4. Earth Assiah, the physical actions, and limitations.

Besides mapping onto the Tree, these are individual Trees. They also reflect in higher and lower Sephiroth and Order grades.

  • 1=10 – Malkuth, Earth,
  • 2=9 – Yesod, Air,
  • 3=8 – Hod Water, reflecting Watery Chessed, and
  • 4=7 – Netzach Fire, reflecting Geburah

The Elements also map to the Zodiac as four triplicities.

Tablets

Fusing approaches, the Golden Dawn remixed the Enochian Great Table into four Elemental tablets, which it called the reformed table of Raphael. This is where things get interesting, as now, each Element gets:

  • A quintessence version represented by the Mystical Tablet of Union
  • Four Elemental degrees or variations, symbolized by the sub angles of its tablet.

According to some sources, this new technology (fourfold nature) enables Elemental transformations, regardless of mutual qualities.

The Tarot

Furthermore, this maps into Tarot’s divisions and combinations:

  • Ace – Quintessence;
  • Kings and Wands – Fire;
  • Queens and Cups – Water;
  • Emperors and Swords – Air;
  • Empresses and Disks – Earth;

More on that is my Rose Cross Cheat Sheet.

The Pentagram

The pentagram represents a perfected Microcosm or Spirit’s rulership over the Elements. Pentagram rituals transform your internal world.

This is why the lower Golden Dawn and Astrum Argentum grades are considered alchemical. Also, why there’s an argument that elemental workings are pure alchemy, whereas the planetary and Zodiac, ‘High Magick.’

Mastering an Element is mastering or aligning an aspect of yourself. So, let’s start with the first, going from bottom to top.

Earth

Malkuth, the sphere of Earth — a synthesis of all processes in the Tree. Earth is considered a vessel, having the most commonalities with Spirit as they both contain all Elements.

Earth binds and stabilizes. It corresponds to the physical body (Guph) and the animal soul (Nephesh).

Working with Earth can help/put you in a position to improve fitness, health, and finances.

If you are obese, it may reveal pre-diabetes, preventing serious troubles. If you are stuck in a dead-end nine to five, it may foster a change.

These are crucial for building a proper vessel for the light. The Earth plane is about manifestation or realizing potentialities for the Viktor Frankl fans. This happens through action, which is why it is also that of action (Assiah). The better your health, performance, and finances, the less you experience its limitations.

Air

Air represents thoughts, focus, attention, concepts, organization, and plans. It is the Ruach part of the soul, corresponding to the formative world, which directly impacts the physical.

Air is your thinking mechanism, including declarative memory. Declarative memory is а type of memory involving consciously recalling facts and events.

Imbalanced Air can result in air-headedness and overthinking. Mentioning this, balancing it has to do with:

  • Studying and Education
  • Improving logic and reasoning,
  • Communication, etc.

Not limited to schooling, all these help you figure out and organize the most efficient ways to take action.

Water

Water unifies and dissolves. It represents the intuitive component of the mind. It is the Neshamah or the Superconsciousness part of the soul. Water is associated with flexibility, changes, performative states, reshaping, and, more traditionally, emotions. Imbalanced Water can result in emotional instability or feeling “flooded” by feelings.

Water is linked to passive energy and qualities of receptivity, nurturing, gradual healing, and recovery. Also, to spontaneity, insights, or hunches, and entirely changing your perspective(s). Hence, the ‘reshaping’ and ‘reformative states.’

Fire

Fire governs willpower, courage, confidence, passion, aggression, determination, and rapid transformation. Also, vitality, vigor, and sexual (generative) energy. This brings us to an interesting detail:

While some ascribe Fire purely to the Life Force Chiah, others argue it also rules parts of the Nephesh, as that sources a substantial part of your drives and urges, which, when properly channeled improve your situation immensely.

Some people rant about motivation vs discipline. The Fire Element rules both, as both don’t happen without passion and agency or the ability to take risks and action regardless of circumstances. Imbalanced Fire can manifest as anger, impulsiveness, or burnout, which is discipline gone bad.

Water receives. Fire penetrates, helping you penetrate and burn your obstacles. Speaking of this, Fire can also heal through destruction and burning and is associated with reformation. Consider combustion, explosiveness, and the eternal and formless Fire.

With all this, let’s dive into the techniques for working with the elements.

Pentagram Rituals

As covered, the pentagram symbolizes the Elements. The pentagram rituals are how you work with them, although there’s a caveat for the Unicursal Hexagram.

Working with a specific element requires a ‘specific’ (or particular) ritual. This is where the Supreme Pentagram Ritual (SRP) comes into play. Alternatively, you can use its simplified version, the Greater (or GRP).

Let’s recall that Lesser means general, whereas Greater and Supreme translate into specific.

Supreme (or Greater) Rituals attune your space to a particular force, which, in this case, is an Element. They multiply its names, sigils, and gestures in all four quarters. To learn more about that, I offer my manuals, which, based on what I’ve seen, are the most extensive and easy to follow.

Kings and Beings

Each Element has a ‘spiritual King’ and ‘beings,’ which you can work through its invocation.

  • Fire – Djinn and Salamanders,
  • Water – Niksah and Undines,
  • Air – Paralda and Sylphs, and
  • Earth – Gheb and Gnoms

You can create sigils of those kings by using Moon a Kamea, as the Elements are ruled by the Moon, whereas the Planets are by the Sun. This requires:

  • Transliterating the name into Arameic and
  • Using its numbers, as Hebrew letters are also numbers.

Ideally, you’ll also use one of Eliphas Levi’s Elemental prayers.

Balance

While this is beyond the scope of this discussion, one of the goals of Alchemy is balancing the elements. Empedocles believed that having such balance results in improved tranquility, intellect, and overall perception of reality. This can be achieved via different techniques.

Used by the GD to start their operations, a four Elements Supreme Invoking Pentagram consecrates and balances the four forces.

Pairing nicely with a four-Elemtns SIRP is the 5=6 Middle Pillar, which incorporates streamlined versions of the Elemental prayers you can use for your invocations.

Regardie’s Opening By Watchtower, which is built on SRP but can feel demanding and cumbersome.

For those who agree, my stores have a fusion technique, providing powerful balancing effects by taking a four-element SRP to a new level.

Mastering the Elements isn’t just about magick—it’s about aligning your mind, body, and Spirit. Whether you’re just starting or looking to deepen your practice, this can transform your path, turning you into a mightier version of yourself. Let me know if that resonates. Thank you for your time!