An Elemental is a spirit embodying one of the five elements of antiquity: Earth (solid), Water (liquid), Wind (gas), Fire (heat), Aether (quintessence). Elementals are referred to by various names. In the English European tradition these include Fairies, Elves, Devas, Brownies, Leprechauns, Gnomes, Sprites, Pixies, Banshees, Goblins, Dryads, Mermaids, Trolls, Dragons, Griffins, and numerous others. These nature spirits are governed by the Archangels. Like Angels, Elementals have a recognisable appearance consistently depicted by the archetypal language of art and literature. For example, it is easy to determine if a drawing is an angel or a winged elemental. Angels have feathered bird-like wings and the winged Elementals have wings that look like a butterfly.
Elemental spirits possess supernatural powers and are usually invisible to humans, living among the trees, rivers, plants, bogs, mountains, and minerals. They attach themselves to practically every natural thing. Earthly Elementals are the metaphysical (beyond the physics) cause of earthquakes, floods, gales, thunderstorms, and wild-fires. In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Prospero, marooned and exiled, frees an Elemental named Ariel from a tree. Then, in order to be free from Prospero, Ariel agrees to perform a series of supernatural acts including a storm that allow Prospero to right the injustice of his exile and to forgive those responsible. More importantly, Earthly Elementals are responsible for creating, sustaining, and renewing life on Earth.
Animism, which is oldest known human spiritual practice, is the belief Elementals inhabit all things. The belief in Elementals predates all the major religions. This is evident in anthropological records of indigenous beliefs and practices throughout the world, including Australian Aboriginies who have the oldest continuous culture.
An early modern reference of elementals appears in the 16th century alchemical works of Paracelsus. His works grouped the Elementals into four of the five elements:
- Gnome, Earth Elemental.
- Undines (also known as Nymph), Water Elemental.
- Sylph, Air Elemental (also known as Wind Elemental).
- Salamander, Fire Elemental.
The earliest known references to the terms Gnome, Undine and Sylph are from the works of Paracelsus.
The basic concept of an Elemental refers to the ancient idea of the elements Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Aether as the fundamental building blocks of nature. This system prevailed in the Classical world. This paradigm was highly influential in Medieval natural philosophy, and Paracelsus drew a range of mythological beings into this paradigm by identifying them as belonging to one of the four elemental types.
In contemporary times there are those who study and practice rituals to invoke Elementals. These include Wiccans, esoteric Freemasons, and followers of nature based religions.
Famous quotes containing the word elemental:
“It is true that this man was nothing but an elemental force in motion, directed and rendered more effective by extreme cunning and by a relentless tactical clairvoyance .... Hitler was history in its purest form.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“What chiefly distinguishes the daily press of the United States from the press of all other countries is not its lack of truthfulness or even its lack of dignity and honor, for these deficiencies are common to the newspapers everywhere, but its incurable fear of ideas, its constant effort to evade the discussion of fundamentals by translating all issues into a few elemental fears, its incessant reduction of all reflection to mere emotion. It is, in the true sense, never well-informed.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“Fate forces its way to the powerful and violent. With subservient obedience it will assume for years dependency on one individual: Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, because it loves the elemental human being who grows to resemble it, the intangible element. Sometimes, and these are the most astonishing moments in world history, the thread of fate falls into the hands of a complete nobody but only for a twitching minute.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)