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.
The five elements
Musical elements
One of the most magical pieces of elemental music I have heard is the air escaping from Arctic glacial ice as it was melted by the sun. Very subtle, calming, beautiful and quite a surprise. Who would have thought of musical ice? I hadn’t until I experienced it directly.
Northern transitions, Hokkaido inspirations
Late spring in Hokkaido
Playground of the gods
Nature awakens
Earth expels steam
Snow melt brings living water
Hibernation broken
Cherry blossoms dance in the wind
Leaves unfurl
In transition, the earth changes her cloak
Intuitively elemental
Praktri, an integrated vision from India
Prakrti is a concept I was blissfully unaware of until beginning my exploration of the elements. Praktri has been translated from Sanskrit as ‘nature’ or ‘matter’. I have also seen it referred to as the source of material existence and the primal motive force. It is an important concept that I am pleased to have discovered. To my delight it came into my life through a five-volume work titled ‘Praktri: The Integral Vision’.
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.
Wisdom from the earth
“Many Aboriginal myths divide the land into different elements, each an Ancestral Spirit with its own history and personality.”
Anna Voigt and Nevill Drury (1997)
Harmony, everything belongs
Like Captain Planet and the App Tengami (check out the post ‘Planetary pop-ups‘), Rudolf Steiner and the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) have more in common than many may appreciate. They were/are both interested in education, farming without chemicals, geometry, architecture, beauty, the interconnectedness of nature, spirituality, addressing the crises facing humanity and creating harmony. In this vein, both have books with Harmony in the title which are related to the elements fire, water, earth, air and aether/spirit.
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.
Planetary pop-ups, contrasting cultures
What does the 1992 book on Captain Planet and the Planeteers and the atmospheric adventure App Tengami have in common? More than you might expect at first glance. Both include references to the intuitive elements of fire, water, air, earth and spirit, with differing degrees of subtlety. Both use pop-ups as a means of engaging their audience, even though they were created over 20 years apart using very different technologies. And both of them were drawn to my attention by people who knew of my interest in our relationship with the elements. This journey of discovery, and making connections with people through it, is one of the pleasures of exploring these themes.
Women on Fire
For my first post (yay!), some insights into the genesis of ‘Fire up Water down’ and the title ‘Women on Fire’. You guessed it. Being a woman with a long-term interest in the ecology of fire has something to do with it. As does my fascination with Indigenous belief systems including Shinto. That’s a story to be told in other posts, so stay tuned.
Fire up Water down 