Water is one of the classical elements in

ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empire ...

along with air, earth and fire, in the Asian Indian system '' Panchamahabhuta'', and in the Chinese cosmological and

physiological Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

system '' Wu Xing''. In contemporary esoteric traditions, it is commonly associated with the qualities of emotion and intuition.

Greek and Roman tradition

Water was one of many ''archai'' proposed by the Pre-socratics, most of whom tried to reduce all things to a single substance. However, Empedocles of Acragas (c. 495 – c. 435 BC) selected four archai for his four roots: air, fire, water and earth. Empedocles roots became the four classical elements of Greek philosophy. Plato (427–347 BC) took over the four elements of Empedocles. In the

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

, his major cosmological dialogue, the Platonic solid associated with water is the

icosahedron In geometry, an icosahedron ( or ) is a polyhedron with 20 faces. The name comes and . The plural can be either "icosahedra" () or "icosahedrons". There are infinitely many non- similar shapes of icosahedra, some of them being more symmetrica ...

which is formed from twenty equilateral triangles. This makes water the element with the greatest number of sides, which Plato regarded as appropriate because water flows out of one's hand when picked up, as if it is made of tiny little balls. Plato's student Aristotle (384–322 BC) developed a different explanation for the elements based on pairs of qualities. The four elements were arranged concentrically around the center of the Universe to form the sublunary sphere. According to Aristotle, water is both cold and wet and occupies a place between air and earth among the elemental spheres. water symbol (alchemical)

ancient Greek medicine Ancient Greek medicine was a compilation of theories and practices that were constantly expanding through new ideologies and trials. Many components were considered in ancient Greek medicine, intertwining the spiritual with the physical. Specifi ...

, each of the four humours became associated with an element. Phlegm was the humor identified with water, since both were cold and wet. Other things associated with water and phlegm in ancient and medieval medicine included the season of Winter, since it increased the qualities of cold and moisture, the phlegmatic temperament, the

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

and the western point of the compass. In alchemy, the chemical element of

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

was often associated with water and its alchemical symbol was a downward-pointing triangle.

Indian tradition

Ap (') is the Vedic Sanskrit term for water, in

Classical Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

occurring only in the plural is not an element.v, (sometimes re-analysed as a thematic singular, '), whence Hindi . The term is from

PIE A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...

''h_xap'' water. In Hindu philosophy, the term refers to water as an element, one of the '' Panchamahabhuta,'' or "five great elements". In Hinduism, it is also the name of the deva, a

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

of water, (one of the Vasus in most later Puranic lists). The element water is also associated with Chandra or the moon and Shukra, who represent feelings, intuition and imagination.

Ceremonial magic

Water and the other Greek classical elements were incorporated into the Golden Dawn system. The elemental weapon of water is the cup. Each of the elements has several associated spiritual beings. The archangel of water is Gabriel, the angel is Taliahad, the ruler is Tharsis, the king is Nichsa and the water elementals are called Ondines. It is referred to the upper right point of the pentagram in the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. Many of these associations have since spread throughout the occult community.

Modern witchcraft

Water is one of the five elements that appear in most Wiccan traditions. Wicca in particular was influenced by the Golden Dawn system of magic and Aleister Crowley's mysticism, which was in turn inspired by the Golden Dawn.Hutton, ''Triumph of the Moon'', pp. 216–23; Valiente, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, p. 17.

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