Ayumi
Another consideration to determine a historically relevant way to define the nature of the four elements, and help assist us in matching the most appropriate elemental correspondences to the tarot suits are the elementals.
Paracelsus in his PHILOSOPHIA OCCULTA, associates each of the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) with a class of mythological creature, called an elemental:
FIRE......= salamanders
AIR.......= Sylphs
WATER...= Undines
EARTH...= Gnomes
To quote Manly Hall's SECRET TEACHING OF ALL THE AGES:
"Literature has also perpetuated the concept of Nature spirits. The mischievous Puck of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream; the elementals of Alexander Pope's Rosicrucian poem, The Rape of the Lock, the mysterious creatures of Lord Lytton's Zanoni; James Barrie's immortal Tinker Bell; and the famous bowlers that Rip Van Winkle encountered in the Catskill Mountains, are well-known characters to students of literature. The folklore and mythology of all peoples abound in legends concerning these mysterious little figures who haunt old castles, guard treasures in the depths of the earth, and build their homes under the spreading protection of toadstools. Fairies are the delight of childhood, and most children give them up with reluctance. Not so very long ago the greatest minds of the world believed in the existence of fairies, and it is still an open question as to whether Plato, Socrates, and Iamblichus were wrong when they avowed their reality."
Gnomes, who dwell in the darkness of caves and the gloom of forests are said to be melancholy, gloomy, despondent and hard working.
Undines are said to be rather emotional beings, friendly to human life and fond of serving mankind.
Salamanders exerted special influence over all beings of fiery or tempestuous temperament.
The Muses of the Greeks are believed to have been Sylphs, for these creatures are said to gather around the mind of the dreamer, the poet, and the artist, and inspire him with their intimate knowledge of the beauties and workings of Nature. Their temperament is mirthful, changeable, and eccentric.
If one assigned, say CUPS for the element of AIR (mirthful, changeable, eccentric), could we not entertain the fanciful idea that the King of Cups was indeed the playful King of the Sylphs, accompanied by his beautiful Queen, his Knight, and his Page? (And do like wise for the other courts.)
Ayumi
Paracelsus in his PHILOSOPHIA OCCULTA, associates each of the four elements (earth, fire, air, and water) with a class of mythological creature, called an elemental:
FIRE......= salamanders
AIR.......= Sylphs
WATER...= Undines
EARTH...= Gnomes
To quote Manly Hall's SECRET TEACHING OF ALL THE AGES:
"Literature has also perpetuated the concept of Nature spirits. The mischievous Puck of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream; the elementals of Alexander Pope's Rosicrucian poem, The Rape of the Lock, the mysterious creatures of Lord Lytton's Zanoni; James Barrie's immortal Tinker Bell; and the famous bowlers that Rip Van Winkle encountered in the Catskill Mountains, are well-known characters to students of literature. The folklore and mythology of all peoples abound in legends concerning these mysterious little figures who haunt old castles, guard treasures in the depths of the earth, and build their homes under the spreading protection of toadstools. Fairies are the delight of childhood, and most children give them up with reluctance. Not so very long ago the greatest minds of the world believed in the existence of fairies, and it is still an open question as to whether Plato, Socrates, and Iamblichus were wrong when they avowed their reality."
Gnomes, who dwell in the darkness of caves and the gloom of forests are said to be melancholy, gloomy, despondent and hard working.
Undines are said to be rather emotional beings, friendly to human life and fond of serving mankind.
Salamanders exerted special influence over all beings of fiery or tempestuous temperament.
The Muses of the Greeks are believed to have been Sylphs, for these creatures are said to gather around the mind of the dreamer, the poet, and the artist, and inspire him with their intimate knowledge of the beauties and workings of Nature. Their temperament is mirthful, changeable, and eccentric.
If one assigned, say CUPS for the element of AIR (mirthful, changeable, eccentric), could we not entertain the fanciful idea that the King of Cups was indeed the playful King of the Sylphs, accompanied by his beautiful Queen, his Knight, and his Page? (And do like wise for the other courts.)
Ayumi