Elemental Attribution Systems from Around the World
Greece: Four Humors
Middle Ages health was though to depend on a balance of four fluids, or humors, in the human body: fire corresponded to blood; air to yellow bile; water to phlegm; and earth to black bile. The notion that health depended on the balance of the four elements arose shortly after Empedocles introduced his theory of the elements.. The theory of the four humors developed by the time of Hippocrates (c.460-c.377 BC).
| Element |
Humor |
Color |
Hot/Cold |
Wet/Dry |
Platonic Solids |
|
| Fire |
Blood (Sanguis) |
Red |
Hot |
Dry |
Tetrahedron (4) |
sanguine, meaning "sturdy, confident, optimistic, cheerful, happy." |
| Air |
Yellow Bile (Bilis, Kholê) |
Yellow |
Hot |
Wet |
Octahedron |
choler, meaning "the quality or state of being irascible";choleric, meaning "angry, irate, irascible"; bile, meaning "inclination to anger, spleen"; bilious, meaning "pevish, ill-natured"; gall, meaning "bitterness, rancor, insolence"; spleen, meaning "mingled ill will & bad temper"; and jaundiced, meaning "envy, distaste, hostility." |
| Water |
Phlegm (Phlegma) |
Green |
Cold |
Wet |
Isoachedron |
phlegmatic, meaning "slow, stolid, cool, impassive." |
| Earth |
Black Bile
(Melancholia) |
Black |
Cold |
Dry |
Cube |
melancholic, meaning "depressed, tending to depress the spirits, irascible, sad, saddening." |
China
| Element |
Direction |
Life Cycle |
Color |
Season |
Animal Guardian |
Type of Energy |
Organ |
Divisions of the Sky |
| Wood |
East |
Growth |
Green |
Spring |
Dragon |
Creative |
Liver |
The Dragon’s Heart |
| Fire |
South |
Peak |
Red |
Summer |
Red Bird |
Energy |
Heart |
The Bird Star |
| Metal |
West |
Tools |
White (Glittering White Metal of Swords & Plough Shares) |
Fall |
Tiger |
Harvest |
Lungs |
the Pleiades |
| Water |
North |
Dormancy |
Black (night or water) |
Winter |
Tortoise |
Travel |
Kidneys |
Void |
| Earth |
Center (China) |
Maturity |
Yellow |
Late Summer |
|
Stable |
Spleen/Pancreas |
|
Japan
| Element |
Direction |
Color |
Season |
Shitenno (Heavenly Kings) |
Shitenno (Heavenly Kings) |
| Wood |
East |
Green |
Spring |
Dragon |
Jikokuten |
| Fire |
South |
Red |
Summer |
Phoenix |
Zouchoten |
| Metal |
West |
White |
Fall |
Kirin |
Koumokuten |
| Water |
North |
Black |
Winter |
Black Warrior |
Tamonten |
| Earth |
Center |
Yellow |
Mid Summer |
|
Taishakuten, Lord of the Center
|
Tibet
| Element |
Direction |
Color |
Season |
Wisdom |
Shape |
Animal |
Realm |
Family |
| Water |
East |
Blue (White) |
Winter |
Great Perfect Mirror |
Sphere |
Elephant |
Hell |
Vajra |
| Earth |
South |
Yellow |
Fall |
non-discriminating |
Square |
Horse |
Human |
Ratna |
| Fire |
West |
Red |
Spring |
subtle observation |
Triangle |
Peacock |
Hungry Ghost |
Padma |
| Air |
North |
Green |
Summer |
Accomplishing Action |
Crescent |
Garuda |
Demon |
Karma |
| Void |
Center |
White (Blue) |
|
Dharma |
Almond |
Lion |
God |
Buddah |
India (Ayurevda)
| Element |
Sanscrit |
Direction |
Color |
Senses |
Quality |
Description |
Body Part |
| Earth |
Prithvi |
|
|
Smell |
Stable |
the solid state of matter. It manifests stability, permanence, and rigidity |
bones, teeth, cells, and tissues |
| Water |
Apa |
|
|
Taste |
Substance with out Stability |
characterizes change and represents the liquid state. Water is necessary for the survival of all living things |
Our blood, lymph, and other fluids. |
| Fire |
Tejas |
|
|
Vision |
Form without Substance |
The power to transform solids into liquids, to gas, and back again. The power to state of any substance. |
Fire transforms food into energy. The impulses of nervous reactions, our feelings, and even our thought processes. |
| Air |
Vayu |
|
|
Skin |
Existence without form |
The gaseous form of matter which is mobile and dynamic |
Within the body, air (oxygen) is the basis for all energy transfer reactions. Fire needs air to burn |
| Ether or Space |
Akash |
|
|
Hearing |
Sound & the Spectrum of Vibration |
The space in which everything happens. |
simultaneously the source of all matter and the space in which it exists. |
Dosha (Humors)
| Element |
Dosha |
Function |
Description |
| Ether & Air |
Vata |
Elimination |
Vata is the combination of air and the atmosphere. It is what makes things move in the body. |
| Fire & Water |
Pitta |
Transformation |
Pitta is the combination of fire and water. It transforms the outside elements into the inside elements of the body. It creates energy from raw material available around us. So, activities such as digestion and other metabolic activities are caused by Pitta. |
| Water & Earth |
Kapha |
Strength & Lubrication |
Kapha is the combination of earth and water. According to Ayurveda, a disorder occurs because of the imbalance of the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha components. |
Native America
| Element |
Direction |
Color |
Season |
|
Animal |
| |
East |
gold or Yellow |
|
illumination and of seeing far, |
Eagle |
| |
South |
Green |
|
Innocence, Trust, Growth. |
Mouse |
| |
West |
Black |
|
Inner Strength, Introspection, Dreams & Visions |
Bear |
| |
North |
White |
|
Purity & Wisdom & Elimination |
Buffalo |
Related Entries: Elements, Tarot.