I will never see my hands and fingers in the same light again. Many cultures and religions consider that everything in the universe, including humans, are made up of the elements of fire, air, earth, water and (often) space/ether/spirit. Even so, I had not made the connection between the elements and our fingers, and in particular with mudras – those elegant and powerful gestures commonly associated with Buddhism, Yoga (e.g. Raja and Hatha) and Indian dance and drama.
China
Celebrating the Year of the Horse, five times around
2014 is the Year of the Wooden Horse. The Chinese Zodiac calendar follows a 12 year cycle, with each year attributed to an animal associated with one of the five ‘elements’ – earth, fire, water, metal and wood. The first cycle of the Chinese Zodiac was introduced in 2600 BC by Emperor Huang Ti. This demonstrates the long history of the elements in Chinese culture.
Jung, Psychology and Alchemy
The subject of alchemy has popped up in several different guises in my blog posts (for example, see ‘Alchemy is in the air’ and ‘Solving the mystery of the six pointed star’). You could say that alchemy and the intuitive elements are closely intertwined.
Quintessence: a multifaceted element
What would you say if asked “what does ‘the fifth element’ bring to mind”? For many in the west, quintessence would be the answer. Or alternatively the 1997 movie “The Fifth Element”. This story is set in the twenty-third century, when the universe is (still) threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, who comes to Earth every five thousand years to protect the humans with four stones of the four elements: fire, water, earth and air.
Fire and water: complementary and opposite
This striking image of fire and water by Martin Hill comes from his exhibition ‘Watershed‘, held at Mossgreen Galleries in Melbourne in April 2014. Fire and water are often paired as elements. Described as both complementary and opposite, they sit well with the concept of duality that underpins many philosophies.
There’s an (elemental) App for that!
If you have you ever wondered how many Apps make reference to the elements then you’ve come to the right place! It is a question I’ve asked myself in my quest to discover how the elements are portrayed in popular culture. Here is where I’ve got to so far with the answer.
Fire up Water down 