The elements of life are the metaphysical essences of everything: the physical, spiritual, mental, and even movement, action, and behavior. Everything is composed of these essences at different ratios for each element. Knowing the elemental properties of something helps one to most effectively work with it, or diagnose and treat it.

There are different elemental systems. Life is complex. The elements are merely a conceptual tool to help us understand and work with metaphysical properties. Use the elemental system that work best for the situation at hand.

Four Elements

The four elements are Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

These elements are a derivative of even more basic attributes that lie on two spectrums: wet and dry, hot and cold. The four elements are a combination of two attributes.

Hot Cold
Wet Air Water
Dry Fire Earth

Air is hot and wet, like steam. Water is cold and wet, like condensation. Fire is hot and dry, like a forest fire that dries the path before it spreads. Earth is cold and dry, no essence to transform any matter.

Those that share attributes have synergy with each other. Air and water are wet, water is virtually always suspended within the air working together. Fire and earth are dry, the earth giving a platform for fire to run through. Air and fire are hot, fire needs the air to feed it in order to survive. Water and earth are cold, earth uses water to shape itself, as does the water use earth for its shape.

Those without shared attributed cancel each other. Air and earth cannot share the same space. Fire and water destroy each other, fire evaporating water and water smothering fire. These elements oppose each other.

Fifth Element

The western four elements system often note a fifth element. The fifth element is that which sparks life. This is often called spirit, or quintessence. For simplicity, I will label this element Spirit.