The pre-Socratic Greek philosphers comprehended their world using just 4 elements — fire, water, earth, and air. This system carried forward to the medieval alchemists, and it still provides a convenient shorthand for occultists today.
At face value, the 4-element system seems inadequate. When I look out the window, I see vast complexity. A lemon tree blossoms in a clay pot; how does that derive from 4 elements?
The term element in the archaic sense means something essentially different from a modern chemist's use of the word. While sulpher is a more-or-less static substance, the ancient meaning of "element" refers to a dynamic bundle of qualities. These qualities apply equally well to a substance, like sulpher, or to a living being's physical, mental, or spiritual state. Probably the ancients drew little distinction between a substance and a "state of being."
In The Book of Thoth, The Master Therion directs our attention to the way the 4 elements blend to produce their various effects — whether objects or states of being. For example, he writes that "The Princess of Cups represents the earthy part of water." The blending of the qualities of the element earth with the qualities of the element water manifests the character of the Princess of Cups.
The Book of Thoth further details the correspondences between the blended elements and their counterparts in other occult systems, such as the I Ching, Hindu mysticism, and astrology. Thus, the book serves as a Rosetta Stone for beginning occultists.
But when I look out the window, I don't see any Princess of Cups in her long gown, dancing around in my garden. Apparently we need another section to complete our Rosetta Stone, one which all of us must write for ourselves. As we approach 2001's Winter Solstice, I offer these samples of the blendings we saw this year. Click on a link to the right to view an image.
If you don't see a table of contents on the right, try this.