| Air (classical Element) |
Article Index for Air |
Website Links For Air |
Information AboutAir (classical Element) |
|
In traditional cultures, ''air'' is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as spirit, inspire, expire, and aspire, all derived from the Latin ''spirare'' ("to breathe"). GREEK AND ROMAN TRADITION ''Air'' is one of the four philosophers, Anaximenes (mid-6th century BCE) named ''air'' as the '' Arche '' (first principle of the world). As it grows warm and rarefied, ''air'' becomes fire; as it cools and condenses it becomes water, then earth and rock.Guthrie, ''History of Greek Philosophy'', vol. 1, pp. 115-16, 120-32; Jonathan Barnes, ''Early Greek Philosophy'', pp. 77-80. A similar belief was attributed by some ancient sources to Diogenes Apolloniates (late 5th century BCE), who also linked ''air'' with intelligence and soul (''psyche''), but other sources claim that his ''arche'' was a substance between air and fire.Guthrie, vol. 2, pp. 362-81; Barnes, pp. 289-94. Aristophanes parodied such teachings in his play '' The Clouds '' by putting a prayer to ''air'' in the mouth of Socrates . ''Air'' was one of many ''archai'' proposed by the Pre-socratics, most of whom tried to reduce all things to a single substance. However, , Water , and Earth . Ancient and modern opinions differ as to whether he identified ''air'' by the divine name Hera , Aidoneus , or even Zeus . Empedocles’ roots became the four classical elements of Greek philosophy.Guthrie, vol. 2, pp. 138-46. Guthrie suggests that Hera is the safest identification for ''air''. Plato (427-347 BCE) took over the four elements of Empedocles. In the '' Timaeus '', his major cosmological dialogue, the Platonic Solid associated with ''air'' is the Octahedron which is formed from eight equilateral triangles. This places ''air'' between fire (four triangular sides) and water (twenty triangular sides), which Plato regarded as appropriate because it is intermediate in its mobility, sharpness, and ability to penetrate. He also said of ''air'' that its minuscule components are so smooth that one can barely feel them.Plato, ''Timaeus'', chap. 22-23; Gregory Vlastos, ''Plato’s Universe'', pp. 66-82. 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, ''air'' is both hot and wet, and occupies a place between fire and water among the elemental spheres. Aristotle definitively separated ''air'' from Aether . For him, aether was an unchanging, almost divine substance that was found only in the heavens, where it formed Celestial Sphere s. G. E. R. Lloyd , ''Aristotle'', chapters 7-8. In Ancient Greek Medicine , each of the Four Humours became associated with an element. Blood was the humor identified with ''air'', since both were hot and wet. Other things associated with air and blood in ancient and medieval medicine included the season of Spring , since it increased the qualities of heat and moisture; the sanguine temperament (of a person dominated by the blood humour); Hermaphrodite (combining the masculine quality of heat with the feminine quality of moisture); and the northern point of the compass.Londa Schiebinger, ''The Mind Has No Sex?'', p. 162. The Alchemical Symbol for ''air'' is an upward-pointing triangle, bisected by a horizontal line. INDIAN TRADITION See Also: Vayu CHINESE TRADITION ''Air'' is not one of the traditional Chinese elements, save for in the Buddhist religion. Some modern occultists equate the Chinese Classical Element of Wood with ''air''.Donald Michael Kraig, ''Modern Magick'', p. 115. IN MODERN MAGIC Ceremonial Magic The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn , founded in 1888, combined ideas from many different sources including Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry , the angelic system of 16th-century magician John Dee and his assistant Edward Kelley , Hermetic Qabalah , and recent archaeological discoveries of Egyptian and Greco-Roman magic and religion.Ronald Hutton, ''Triumph of the Moon'', pp. 72-83. Thus ''air'' and the other Greek classical elements were incorporated into the Golden Dawn system despite being considered obsolete by modern science. Theoricus (2=9) is the elemental grade attributed to ''air''; this grade is also attributed to the Moon and the Qabalistic sphere Yesod.Israel Regardie, ''The Golden Dawn'', pp. 154-65. The Elemental Weapon of ''air'' is the dagger, which must be painted yellow with magical names and sigils written upon it in violet.Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', p.322; Kraig, ''Modern Magick'', pp. 149-53. Each of the elements has several associated spiritual beings. The archangel of ''air'' is Raphael , the angel is Chassan, the ruler is Aral, the king is Paralda, and the ''air'' Elemental s (following Paracelsus ) are called Sylph s.Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', p. 80. ''Air'' is considered to be active; it is represented by the Man and the symbol for Aquarius , and it is referred to the upper left point of the pentagram in the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram.Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', pp. 280-286; Kraig, ''Modern Magick'', pp. 206-209. Many of these associations have since spread throughout the occult community. In the Golden Dawn and many other magical systems, each element is associated with one of the Cardinal Point s and is placed under the care of guardian Watchtowers. The Watchtowers derive from the Enochian System Of Magic founded by Dee. In the Golden Dawn, they are represented by the Enochian elemental tablets.Doreen Valiente, ''The Rebirth of Witchcraft'', p. 64. ''Air'' is associated with the east, which is guarded by the First Watchtower.Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', p. 631. Wicca ''Air'' is one of the four elements appears in many Neopagan traditions. Wicca in particular was influenced by the Golden Dawn system of magic. Gerald Gardner , one of the founders of Wicca, was in contact with Aleister Crowley and incorporated elements of Crowley’s works into Wiccan rituals.Hutton, ''Triumph of the Moon'', pp. 216-23; Valiente, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, p. 17. Many practicing Wiccan traditions therefore use attributions inspired by the Golden Dawn, but there are many variations as well. Common attributions include:
Many Wiccan Traditions place ''air'' in the North and Earth in the East . Astrological Personalities People born under the astrological signs of Gemini , Libra and Aquarius are thought to have dominant ''air'' personalities. ''Air'' personalities tend to be cool like the wind. OTHER TRADITIONS Enlil was the god of ''air'' in ancient Sumer . Shu was the Ancient Egypt ian god of ''air'' and the husband of Tefnut , goddess of moisture. He became an emblem of strength by virtue of his role in separating Nut (sky) from Geb (earth). He played a primary role in the Coffin Texts , which were spells intended to help the deceased reach the realm of the afterlife safely. On the way to the sky, the spirit had to travel through the ''air'', as one spell indicates: "I have gone up in Shu, I have climbed on the sunbeams."Bob Brier, ''Ancient Egyptian Magic'', p.128. In . ''Air'' is represented in the Aztec religion by a rabbit; to the Scythians , a yoke; to the Hindu s and Greeks , a sword; and in Christian Iconography , as Mankind . SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|