How water, air, fire, and earth determine a person’s character
The four elements; water, air, fire, and earth were once believed to be part of the makeup of everything on the earth. Astrology still uses them in describing the zodiac signs as belonging to different elements. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are Fire Signs; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are Earth signs; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius are Air signs; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are Water signs. When you dig deeper into Astrology to find your ascendant, moon sign and where the planets lie in your chart, you’ll see a mix of the elements with perhaps most being of one or two elements.
How does this have anything to do with a person’s character?
Let’s look at the elements first and what they mean.
Fire – Fire is about heat, passion, and energy. Fire burns cleanse and consume. It is bright and dangerous but necessary for life. It can be explosive and a roaring inferno or it can smolder slowly.
Earth – Earth is growing, fertile, and transformative. The Earth we stand on is stable, and steady, the roots of all life are hidden in the earth. All things come from the earth and all things return to earth.
Air – Air is inspiration, thoughts, and clarity. Air can blow through stirring everything in the room, flighty and light, as gentle as a whisper or blowing down everything in its path.
Water – Water is emotion, feelings and intuition. Water flows over and around, it fills up in hollows and pounds in the surf. It can become stagnant without movement, dilute, or drown everything in a flood.
We use these types of meanings when describing people, usually in a negative sense. A fiery person is quick to flare up, to anger and has a tendency to burn those who cross them. An earthy person is stable and grounded, but also slow-moving and stuck in one place. An airy person is prone to be flighty, given to fancies, and quite often flits from one grand idea to another. A watery person is empathic but can be weak and emotional.
Combinations of elements
Combinations of elements or how those strong in one interact with someone strong in another can be quite fascinating too. Air can snuff a candle or fan the flames making them burn hotter. Earth can smother fire or be consumed by it. Water can douse the fire or be changed to steam. Remind you of anyone? Earth can block the wind, or be blown around by it like seeds on the wind. Water and Air can make waves, ripples or water spouts. Earth can either drain Water away or contain it in a lake or pool.
A lack of Fire can make someone slow, passionless and cold.
A lack of Air can make someone unimaginative, thoughtless and slow to change their mind. A lack of Earth can make someone ungrounded, not really connected to reality and flaky. A lack of Water can make someone emotionless, unfeeling and cruel.
While I’ve mostly talked about the elements, it’s not much of a stretch to apply these descriptions to people. I’m sure that you’ve recognized people you know or relationships around you in the elements.
