Somebody recently asked me where the idea of the four elements came from. I explained how the Greek philosopher and root magician Empedocles wrote a bout them in his work Tetrasomia in the fifth century BCE, as discussed in our book Practical Elemental Magick.
“Now hear the fourfold Roots of everything:
Enlivening Hera, Aidoneus, bright Zeus,
And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears.”
With this verse Empedocles introduced the concept that the elements were in fact manifestations of divine power. This is the source of the attribution of air and fire as masculine elements, stemming from Zeus and Hades (Aidoneus), and earth and water as feminine elements, stemming from Hera and Persephone (Nestis). Empedocles taught by allegory and poetic allusion, and so there has been some dispute about the attributions of the gods to the elements. This is convincingly solved by Peter Kingsley in his excellent work Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic.
When we look at his attributions we can see the symmetry in his logic. Zeus, the air god is wed to Hera the earth goddess, the opposite element, symbolising the marriage of heaven and earth. Likewise Hades the fire god is wed to Persephone the water goddess, again the opposite element, and in this case symbolising the marriage of transformation.
So if the elements are manifestations of divine energy, what does that make our world?
