Basic Wiccan Tools and Symbols – More Chinese Elements
In the Chinese Tradition which pre-dates the Hindu and Buddhist, a system of five elements and associations is presented in the Shu Ching (the Book of History).
Elements | EARTH | WATER | FIRE | WOOD | METAL |
. | TU | SHUI | HUO | MU | JIN |
Colors | yellow | black | red | blue/green | white |
Symbols | caldron | tortoise | phoenix | dragon | tiger |
Seasons | between | winter | summer | spring | autumn |
conditions | wind | cold | heat | rain | clear |
directions | center | north | south | east | west |
Planets | Saturn | Mercury | Mars | Jupiter | Venus |
Actions | thought | listening | sight | countenance | speech |
Senses | touch | hearing | taste | sight | smell |
Tastes | sweet | salty | bitter | sour | acrid/spicy |
Organs | spleen | kidneys | heart | liver | lungs |
Virtues | good faith | knowledge | propriety | benevolence | righteousness |
Oddly enough, in the Chinese tradition of Feng Sheui the 4 elements are wood, water, fire and metal.
In the Wicca tradition, there are four basic elements and they each have a cardinal direction and various objects and tools associated with them: EARTH, FIRE, AIR and WATER. Then there is always the great soul group from the 1970s with just three elements: Earth Wind and Fire! But I jest…