#The Four Elements

[avatar-firelordzuko]

What a fantastic brilliant cute artwork ❤️✌️🥰

🦬🐉🎏🦡

🌬️🔥🌊⛰️

[yourhighness6]

Actually going insane thinking about the way both Katara and Zuko could be either fire or water based on Uncle Iroh's descriptions in "Bitter Work".

"Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want." He is talking about Zuko here, his constant determination and drive and his need to be validated by his father, but he's also talking about Katara. Katara, who, as the last southern waterbender, needed to be the best in her class in the north and had to work both for that position and a place in that class in the first place. Katara, whose enduring hope that the war could end, that Aang could save the world, is the result of sheer unadulterated willpower.

And "Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything." He is talking about Katara here, her need to take care of her family and feel close to her culture as well as her cleverness and ingenuity in the face of danger, but he's also talking about Zuko. Zuko, who lived life by the seat of his pants and changed directions as easily as a flowing river. Zuko, who needed his family and his home so much that he was willing to do almost anything to get it back until he realized that the world was suffering for it.

Uncle Iroh is the biggest Zutara shipper and even though I do have complicated feelings about him, I do have to give him credit for that.

[mote-historie]

George Barbier, The Four Elements: Le Feu (Fire), L'Air (Air), La Terre (Earth) and L'Eau (Water), Falbalas & fanfreluches: almanach des modes présentes, passées & futures pour 1922 [-1926], 1925.

The ancient Greeks believed that there were four elements that everything was made up of: earth, water, air, and fire.

Historians believe that as early as the 8th century BCE, ancient Greek philosophers of the Archaic period began formulating theories of the four classical elements. Although the Greeks believed that the four elements were unchanging in nature, everything was made up of these elements, held together or pushed apart by forces of attraction and repulsion, causing substances to appear to change. This is similar to what really happens with elements and all molecules at an atomic level. (x)

[marlinspirkhall]

The existence of J Law and J Lo implies the existence of a J Crime and J High

[musings-on-wisteria]

Exploring The Elements (Via Comparison)

This post is about how I came up with my version of the Four Elements. My variations are not exactly unique, but there are some key departures from traditional depictions that I think make my system stand out. If it’s not obvious, this is entirely my UPG.

Context: While the elements are the backbone of my witchcraft practice and are absolutely part of my spells, I view each element as more than just a tool or an energy, but as a category. For me, each element has its own lessons, its own mysteries, its own aspects and its own path for a practitioner to walk down. That being said, I think they're absolutely categories you can play with. I took the elements and made them more sacred than sorcerous; you may want to make them more secular than spiritual. That's totally your call!

For starters, I mentioned in this post that I prefer to work with the elements as they appear in my life. When I began my practice, I meditated on each element and followed the threads that it reminded me of.

To take Wind as an example, I thought of letters, weather vanes and feathers. From that I could extrapolate correspondences of communication, ideas, omens, change, exchange, favors, levity and freedom.

That's a LOT from three objects.

From there, I applied the correspondences to my life- where did I see omens, experience exchange and communication, feel free? Pretty quickly, Wind's domain became the internet, as well as academic study, games, and travel.

Once I had done this- and mind you, I didn't sit down and write out every element one by one, it was a more organic process- I wanted to find the intricacies of the system. Some of the elements seemed to overlap- Earth and Water, for instance. I wanted to know what separated them, made each its own path.

That's where comparative groupings showed up. Dividing my four elements into two sets of two as many ways as I could was a pretty useful way to figure out what they were and what they weren't. These categories are fairly arbitrary, but they help me understand the connections between the elements and solidify their meanings. You can see how this is done with the traditional four Elements, with "passive" and "active," "feminine" and "masculine," and all of that. There are three axis that I measure them through; Hearth vs. Flux, Aspirational vs. Foundational, and Energetic vs. Organic.

The Hearth elements (Fire and Earth) are physical. Their domain is the solid and mundane. They’re called “Hearth” because their properties are more familiar to us, being steady and predictable. The Flux elements, by comparison (Water and Wind) are shifting and metaphysical. They have influence over things that only exist in our minds- our thoughts, ideas, magic. They also fluctuate, hence the name. 

The Aspirational elements (Wind and Earth) have goals that are either endless- they can never be truly achieved- or which I gravitate towards in good times. When I’m doing well, I focus on these things, which encourage growth, progress and self-expression. They concern the external world, beyond an individual person. The Foundational elements (Water and Fire) meanwhile, are more about maintenance and healing. In bad times, I come to these elements for renewal and comfort. They focus on the internal, the self, the- well, foundational. These are paths that set habits and routines.

The Energetic elements (Wind and Fire) are more energy than spirit. They tend to be simpler, more linear, more man-made and more morally neutral. They’re more sorcery than spirituality, if that makes sense. Organic elements (Earth and Water), by contrast, are more spirit than energy. They’re complex. They like cycles and feelings and spiritual development. They like dealing with people rather than products. (I have a whole UPG around energy and spirit- long story short, I see spirit as condensed energy and energy as unfocused spirit- but that's another story.)

So, reading through that, you can probably already glean a lot of my elemental associations. That's how it's supposed to work- through these three comparative lenses, you can triangulate my correspondences in a really satisfying way.

For instance, you now know that Water is a Flux element- changing, metaphysical, mind-focused- a Foundational element- self-focused, healing and internal- and Organic- specializing in spirituality, cycles and feelings. The sentence writes itself- Water is about a person’s relationship to themselves and their internal feelings, the cycles of healing and development, and spiritual wisdom.

Additionally, that tells you how I might use Water in a spell! Personally, I almost never use only one element- it's much more potent to blend them. In my practice, Water will be present in both a cleansing and an emotional healing spell- but in the former, I'd combine it with Wind (the Flux Elements like movement and shifting things around), while in the latter I would add more Fire (because the Foundational Elements are eternal sources of renewal and self-love).

This has been a long post, so if you made it all the way through, thanks! I may make more posts outlining my specific, in-depth profiles for each of the elements, for my own record as much as anything else. Keep in mind these will be entirely based on my UPG and highly personal to my craft.

PLEASE, please please please add your own UPG around the elements to this post- or tag me in your own- I would really love to see what other people make of these four!

[neonsblanketfort]

broke: working with the four elements (⛰️🌬️🔥🌊) because you were taught they're the building blocks of the universe that make up everything

woke: not believing in such strict limitations for the universe and moving away from working with the four elements (⛰️🌬️🔥🌊) to practice something else

bespoke: working with the four elements (⛰️🌬️🔥🌊) again, not because they're the building blocks for anything, but because you've spent 10 years building a relationship with them and they want to help your magic

[bossbeader]

Element inspired friendship bracelets🔥💦🌍🌬️

I had intended to get these finished sooner, but other responsibilities got in the way. I hope you guys like these, and if you can pick up on the series they are inspired after, then you’re pretty rad! Please reblog this post, and maybe share my shop link around. I so deeply appreciate the support I’ve gotten from you all❤️.

[givreencres]

"The Four Elements: Earth"

A living poetry

4/6

When I think of you

Stability

Reliability

Reality

Are the first words that come to mind

First of the first

You are unchanging

Before you, you have seen

Many a step

Many a battle

Many legends

You have always remained neutral

Only letting your emotions speak on rare occasions

Sadness when your insides are touched

Joy when a new land is formed

And even when you find yourself submerged

You stand there

Welcoming all those who seek refuge

In your eyes, all beings are equal

Plants, animals, souls, it doesn't matter

You've never made a distinction

You are here and will remain here for as long as you wish

Everything is ephemeral in your eyes

So you chose to be the source of stability

In benevolent opposition to your three unstable sisters and brothers

You've become the embodiment of measure

©Givre Encres

[tomoleary]

Georges Barbier (1882-1932) “The Four Elements” (1925)

Source

[avatar-firelordzuko]

Stunning artwork 🎨🤗♥️

🎨 Avatar TLAB by Pencilmachine

on DeviantArt

[battements-d-elle]

the four elements

[traumatizedjaguar]

When I was 8 I did not understand Avatar like I do now. When the Lion Turtle says “The true mind can weather all lies and illusions without being lost. A true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed” I now get the message, it means to stay true to yourself. That’s the challenge Aang faces throughout the whole show. Trust your gut and what you know to be true. Aang doesn’t think defeating violence, abusers, vengeful people works by using/adding more violence, abusive actions, vengeful behaviors to the mix; he doesn’t believe in killing, so he stays true to his beliefs. That’s why each time everybody around him says “kill Ozai” or “violence is the only way to win” he questions it bc it feels off. That’s how he learns to take trauma, abuse and suffering away from the world so people don’t have to go through that separation from themselves and each other anymore.

[whump-queen]

I get kinda tired so i slide down onto your shoulder, watching as you torture people, snuggling into your neck.

-👾

bouta pull up looking menacing asf w my entourage of tiny lil guys

@whumpasaurus101 @hidden-dreamland @rock-anon

[mippyart]

My first digital art of the character - based on water (no name yet :P). Slowly but lovingly she is growing!!

A cool cat in town by Tape five, Brenda Boykin has been a big inspiration for the character (love this song!!)

[marinepaintings]

The Elements by Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman, 17th century