Everything about Earth Classical Element totally explained
Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.
Greek and Roman tradition
Earth is one of the four
classical elements in ancient
Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of practicality, restraint and materialism. It was also associated with the physical, sensual aspects of life.
Earth was one of many
archai proposed by the Pre-socratics, most of whom tried to reduce all things to a single substance. However,
Empedocles of Acragas (c. 495-c. 435 BCE) selected four
archai for his four roots:
air,
fire,
water, and
earth. Empedocles’ roots became the four classical elements of Greek philosophy.
Plato (427-347 BCE) took over the four elements of Empedocles. In the
Timaeus, his major cosmological dialogue, the
Platonic solid associated with
earth is the
cube which is formed from six square sides. This places
earth between fire (four triangular sides) and air (eight triangular sides). A highly un-spherical solid, these clumsy little cubes cause dirt to crumble and break when picked up, in stark difference to the smooth flow of water or air.
Plato’s student
Aristotle (384-322 BCE) developed a different explanation for the elements based on pairs of qualities. The four elements were arranged concentrically around the center of the universe to form the
sublunary sphere. According to Aristotle,
earth is both cold and dry, and occupies a place between water and fire among the elemental spheres.
In Classical
Greek and
Roman myth, various goddesses represented the
earth, crops and fertility, including
Ceres,
Demeter, and
Persephone or
Proserpina.
In ancient
ancient Greek medicine, each of the
four humours became associated with an element.
Black bile was the humor identified with
earth, since both were cold and dry. Other things associated with
earth and black bile in ancient and
medieval medicine included the season of
fall, since it increased the qualities of cold and aridity; the melancholic temperament (of a person dominated by the black bile humour); the
feminine; and the southern point of the compass.
In
alchemy, the
chemical element of
salt was associated with
earth and its
alchemical symbol was a downward-pointing triangle, bisected by a horizontal line.
Indian Tradition
Prithvi (
Sanskrit:, also ) is the
Hindu earth and
mother goddess. According to one such tradition, she's the personification of the
Earth itself; according to another, its actual
mother, being
Prithvi Tattwa, the essence of the element
earth.
As
Prithvi Mata, or "
Mother Earth," she contrasts with
Dyaus Pita, "
father sky." In the
Rigveda,
earth and sky are frequently addressed as a
duality, often indicated by the idea of two complementary "half-shells." In addition, the element Earth is associated with
Budha or Mercury, who represents communication, business, mathematics and other practical matters. Earth is also associated with the south-west direction.
Chinese Tradition
In traditional
Chinese philosophy,
Earth is classified as one of the
Wu xing, or the
Five Elements, also translated as
five phases,
five movements or
five steps, by which all natural phenomena can be explained. The system of five elements was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. It was employed in many fields of early Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as geomancy and
Feng shui,
astrology,
traditional Chinese medicine,
Chinese alchemy,
music,
military strategy and
martial arts. The original foundation for the idea is based on the concept of the
Five Cardinal Points.
Earth is a balance of both
yin and
yang, the feminine and masculine together. Its motion is inward and centering, and its energy is stabilising and conserving. It is associated with the color yellow and the planet Saturn, and it lies at the center of the compass in the Chinese cosmos. It is associated with the turn of each of the four seasons and with damp. It is believed to govern the spleen, stomach, mouth and muscles. Its negative emotion is anxiety and its positive emotion is empathy. Its Primal Spirit is represented by the Yellow Phoenix.
In Chinese thought
Earth is associated with the qualities of patience, thoughtfulness, practicality, hard work and stability. The earth element is also nurturing and seeks to draw all things together with itself, in order to bring harmony, rootedness and stability. Other attributes of the
earth element include ambition, stubbornness, responsibility and long-term planning. In pathology, the
earth can represent selfishness and self-centeredness. In the controlling cycle earth controls water and is controlled by wood; while in the conducive cycle earth is produced by fire, and in turn produces metal.
Earth plays an important role in
Chinese Astrology. In Chinese astrology earth is included in the 10
heavenly stems (the five elements in their yin and yang forms), which combine with the 12
earthly branches (or Chinese signs of the
zodiac), to form the
60 year cycle.
Yang earth years end in 8 (eg 1998), while
Yin earth years end in 9 (eg 1999).
The element earth is associated with the planet Saturn on account of its yellow color . However, some Western astrologers have suggested that the Western associations of
Saturn give it greater affinity with the rigid, controlling Chinese element of
Metal; while the Chinese conception of earth as a centring, harmonizing element has more in common with the Western notion of the planet
Venus.
In Modern Magic
Ceremonial Magic
Earth and the other Greek classical elements were incorporated into the Golden Dawn system despite being considered obsolete by modern science. Zelator (1=10) is the elemental grade attributed to earth; this grade is also attributed to the Qabalistic sphere Malkuth. The
elemental weapon of earth is the
Pentacle. Each of the elements has several associated spiritual beings. The archangel of
earth is
Uriel, the angel is Phorlakh, the ruler is Kerub, the king is Ghob, and the earth
elementals (following
Paracelsus) are called
gnomes. Earth is considered to be passive; it's represented by the symbol for
Taurus, and it's referred to the lower left point of the pentagram in the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. Many of these associations have since spread throughout the occult community.
Wicca
In
Wicca,
earth is associated with the North (or East in some variations), Winter, and the color yellow (or green in some variations) on the physical plane. It is sometimes represented by its
Hindu tattva (a yellow square), or by a downward pointing triangle with a horizontal line through it, and may be symbolized by the following:
percussion instruments, animal fur, coins, a pentacle, milk, a heartbeat, jewelry, bones, or a staff.
Earth represents strength, abundance, stability and femininity. In rituals,
earth is represented by burying objects in the ground,
herbalism, and carving images out of wood or stone.
The manifestations of the
earth element are found in plants, trees, mountains, forests, caves and gardens. The stag, boar, bull, sow, bear and snake are also thought to personify the element, as are all burrowing animals, such as the mole or rabbit. The
astral creatures of
earth, known as
elementals, are the
Satyr/
Faun,
Gnome/
Goblin, and Sylvestre/
Dryad.
Earth’s place on the
pentagram is the lower left point.
Astrological Personalities
People born under the astrological signs of
Taurus,
Capricorn and
Virgo are thought to have dominant
earth personalities.
Earth personalities tend to be calm, practical, pragmatic, responsible and cautious; however, they can also be stubborn, intolerable and inflexible.
Other Traditions
In
East Asia,
metal is sometimes seen as the equivalent of
earth and is represented by the
White Tiger (Chinese constellation), known as 白虎 (
Bái Hǔ) in
Chinese,
Byakko in
Japanese and
Baekho (백호,
Hanja:白虎) in
Korean.
Earth is represented in the
Aztec religion by a house; to the
Hindus, a lotus; to the
Scythians, a plough; to the
Greeks, a wheel; and in
Christian iconography, by a bull.
Further Information
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