Air, water, earth, and fire are the 4 known elements. There are 5 elements in many philosophies and traditions around the world. What does the fifth element stand for? Are Chinese, Japanese, Buddhist, Greek, Babylonian, and alchemy’s elements common?
Fifth element Earth is considered "north"; Fire is "south"; air is "east"; Water is "west", while the fifth element is the "spirit", "soul". Fifth Element is the "spiritual force" that Earth, Air, Fire, and Water descend from.*Babylonian 5 Elements1-wind2-fire3-earth4-sea5-sky*Medieval AlchemyThe number of traditional elements in medieval alchemy varies from 4, 5 or 8. The first four are always found. The fifth, aether, is important in some traditions. Sulfur, mercury and salt are classical elements.1-air2-fire3-water4-earth5-aether6-sulfur7-mercury8-salt*Greek 5 Elements1-air2-water3-fire4-earth5-aether*Chinese 5 Elements - Wu Xing1-wood2-water3-earth4-fire5-Metal*Japanese 5 Elements - Godai1-air2-water3-earth4-fire5-void*Hindu and Buddhist 5 Elements1-Vayu (wind or air)2-Ap (water)3-Agni fire)4-Prithvi (earth)5-Akasha (sky)*Tibetan 5 Elements (Bon)1-air2-water3-earth4-fire5-aether
If you could have one of the four elemental powers like Avatar (fire, earth, air, water), which one would you choose and why?
It all depends on what I wanted to use it for.Fire has powerful destructive energy and is a catalyst for change, and the power can also control Lightning (if you go by The Last Airbender). However, it's almost useless for construction, unless you have time to use a forge or want to make something out of glass. When mastered, it is the best element for direct offense, but not so impenetrable as a defense.Earth may seem at first to be the most useful, as someone else pointed out. It is essentially the control of all solid minerals, and is very useful on earth. One has great constructive capability, especially since you can shape metal, as well. Earthquakes. However, in the show, the basis of earthbending is a stance on the ground, rendering earthbenders relatively weak when separated from it. This means that if someone were to directly impact you with air, water, or fire, they could send you flying and render you prone. No other element has such a weakness.Water flows like the natural motion of a person, so it is likely the most intuitive for combat applications. Ice is useful for impromptu constructs, which can briefly emulate earthbending, but they cannot last except in subzero climates. Water can also be drawn from the air (except in very arid areas), and is found in plants and animals, allowing for puppet-like control of life and influence of weather.Air is the most underrated of the elements, because it seems ephemeral and flimsy, but it can be extremely useful when mastered. Acute vibration of the air can be used to create shockwaves and to synthesize and replicate sounds, potentially even modifying or silencing voices. Peoples' abilities to breathe can be restricted, dust can be swept into a smokescreen, and high-speed flight is easily attainable. Weather and atmospheric conditions like tornadoes and hurricanes can be trigerred, and one could breathe almost anywhere.It really just depends what kind of lifestyle you have, or what purpose you want to use it for. Personally, I would have to go for Air, with Earth as my second choice.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV series): Which is your favorite bending style?
Water bending. The element of calmness! The element that soothes your soul, heals your spirit. The arguments for water bending:It is the only element that heals physical (as well as mental) injuries.For today's teens who are nocturnal creatures, the night makes water bending substantially stronger as the moon shines bright at night with all its might.During every full moon, their power increases manifold and they are even able to control the blood inside the human body!The Earth is ~70% water. There's water everywhere: inside the ground as ground water, in the air in the form of clouds and humidity, and on earth in the form of lakes and rivers and oceans! You're unlikely to ever run out of water to bend.It is the only element that holds a connection with the spirits: it can calm angry spirits and turn them into docile, harmless entities capable of a peaceful coexistence.The personality type that is proficient with water bending is usually calm and graceful. This is why water bending is amazing! :D
Fire is not an element??
Earth, Air, Wind, and Fire were once considered elements in many primitive tribes and societies. Actually it very logical until we humans started to understand much much more about the universe that we live in. Many other cultures had different explanations ... neat! Western science now define elements as... "A chemical element, often called simply an element, is a substance that cannot be decomposed or transformed into other chemical substances by ordinary chemical processes. All matter consists of these elements and as of 2006, 117 unique elements have been discovered or artificially created. The smallest particle of such an element is an atom, which consists of electrons centered about a nucleus of protons and neutrons." Wikipedia. Fire is a chemical reaction not an element ! Sorry; Jonnie
Which is the most powerful of the 4 elements?
like fire, earth, water, and air. Or can you think of any others? (in case you haven't realized yet, i don't mean the ones on the periodic table) It's for a book btw.
What is the "Thrice Great" and the "..three parts of the philosophy of the whole world"..?
http://gnosis.org/hermes.htm (excellent article by Gnostic Priest Stephan Hoeller) The following excerpt is by G.R.S.Mead. For the whole article follow this link: http://www.gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/g... The whole site is fascinating. The Pymander treatise not only belongs to the most important type of the literature attributed to Hermes Trismegistus but is also the most important document within that type. It constitutes, so to speak, the Ground Gospel of the Hermetic Communities, in the form of a revelation or apocalypse received by the founder of the tradition. That founder, however, is not so much a historical personage as the personification of a teaching-power or grade of spiritual illumination -- in other words, of one who had reached the Hermetic or rather "Thrice-greatest" state of consciousness or enlightenment. This stage of enlightenment is characterized by a heightening of the spiritual intuition that made the mystic capable of receiving the first touch of cosmic consciousness, and of retaining it in his physical memory when he returned to the normal state. The setting forth of the divine teaching is thus naturally in the form of apocalyptic scenes but of an ordered and logical nature. The treatise purports to be a setting forth of the spiritual "Epopteia" ("seeing beyond") of the Inner Mysteries, the Vision revealed by the Great Initiator or Master Hierophant, the One Mind of all-masterhood. not sure about that three part philosophy thing... will keep digging