Elements in Classical Thought
Four Elements, Fundamental Life Forces, Basic Energies, Wuxing, Basic Substances, Essential Units
Material Substances, Five Primary Paranas or Vital Energies

Research by
Michael P. Garofalo

Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Red Bluff, California

Air     Earth     Fire     Water     Space    

Seeing     Hearing     Touching     Tasting     Smelling

Mind     Spirituality     Druids     Taoists     Tantrics

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"The modern scientific Periodic Table of the Elements is generally credited to Dmitri Mendeleev 1834-1907, who developed it in 1869 to illustrate periodic trends in the properties of the then-known elements; the layout has been refined and extended as new elements have been discovered and new theoretical models developed to explain chemical behavior."
Periodic Table of the the Elements - Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

Air

Earth

Fire

Water

Aether (Void, Space, Emptiness, Quintessence, Ether, Subtle)

Mind  (Spirit, Consciousness, Soul, Awareness, Non-Material Being, Supernatural, Divine) 

 

 

"The existence of the five elements can also be found in India, predating their use in Greece. The pancha mahabhuta, or "five great elements", of Hinduism are kshiti or bhūmi (earth), ap or jala (water), tejas or agni (fire), marut or pavan (air or wind), vyom or shunya or akash (aether or void). Hindus believe that all of creation, including the human body, is made up of these five essential elements and that upon death, the human body dissolves into these five elements of nature, thereby balancing the cycle of nature.  According to one of the principal texts of Hindu philosophy, the Tattwa Kaumudi authored by Vacaspati in the 9th century A.D., the Creator used akasha (ether), the most "subtle" element, to create the other four traditional elements; each element created is in turn used to create the next element, each less subtle than the last. The five elements are associated with the five senses, and act as the gross medium for the experience of sensations. The basest element, earth, created using all the other elements, can be perceived by all five senses - hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell. The next higher element, water, has no odor but can be heard, felt, seen and tasted. Next comes fire, which can be heard, felt and seen. Air can be heard and felt. "Akasha" (ether) is the medium of sound but is inaccessible to all other senses."
Classical Five Elements - Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

  

 

 

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       From January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2010 from the Spirit of Gardening Website.  
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Last modified or updated on July 5, 2012

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