EARTH – Element of Nature
Posted on November 30, 2010 by DFHS Article Team
The study and appreciation of the natural elements pervades all wisdom teachings. Nature inspires poets and points a way to those who seek understanding of both spirit and matter.
Although the terms used to distinguish the natural elements differ between eras and times throughout the centuries and there remain differences between oriental and western thought, the essential common understanding is clear. In philosophy we look to the principles that in western teachings are clearly marked as the symbols of Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Ether.
To the nature lover, these elements are obvious in the outer natural environment. In relation to the first; Earth is the ground, the soil, the sand, the firm surface upon the planet with its innumerable variations in form. There are deserts of sand, mountains of rock, prairies of pasture, high cliffs and valleys that are features in terrain.
Earth provides our stable base for human habitation, activities and physical survival. It supports all the vegetative life upon which our physical sustenance depends and is abundant in the nuts, fruits, seeds, herbs, and vegetables it produces through the wonder and mystery of the laws of growth.
It is also symbolic of the secure base that is our material environment. It is the property of matter that to a large extent is obvious and contactable through our tactile senses. Earth seems then very real to us and governs everything we can see as material reality.
To find satisfaction in knowledge of any kind we seek to apply it in practical application.
Regarding the element Earth, it is seen to dominate all the avenues of material science, technology, construction of all kinds. In human nature that possesses the same inherent five elements, we seek to reflect them in the qualities of our character as in the qualities of our thought. Earth is expressed in our physical body, in our practicality, in our constructive talents, in our productive life, and in the secure base of our reliability in relation to our fellows. Through matter we create things of value, be it in crafts, technological machinery, architecture and the visual arts.
In the combination of the five elements within us, some possess more quality or quality of one element over another. Those who have Earth dominant in their nature are more naturally inclined to be stable, practical and able to cope with the material things of life than others who are a different mix of the active principles.
We are reminded that the overall important value of Earth is that it allows the expression of beauty both in the external environment and within our personal lives. And this beautiful planet called Earth is our home.
Earth gives us a practical base from which we move on to study the other Elements and what they mean in our lives and how to better understand our Astrological Chart.
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