Four elements

FOUR ELEMENTS
Four elements are not particularly important in the Western astrology that focuses on the movements of the planets and their relation to the sun. In the Oriental astrology elements have much stronger position and they are also bit different from our four elements not least because they have five elements.


NATURE OF FOUR ELEMENTS
First we are going to forget the Oriental point of view and give the basics of the elements. Like I wrote, there are four elements – fire, earth, air and water. According to the nature of the element, people are said to have similar features, therefore resulting:

Fire element – enthusiastic, vivid, and powerful

Earth element – reliable, solid and practical

Air element – intellectual, loving and direct

Water element – emotional, intuitive and sensitive


HISTORY OF ELEMENTS
In Western science these elements have been almost constant even before classic Greek philosophy that extended the use into above qualities. Over the centuries elements have been refined and gained more elaborate meanings but still the most fundamental concept is that of Pythagoreans. Followers of this symmetric school of thought devised the notion of opposites that either pull or push according to the situation. Even now the zodiac wheel is arranged according to those opposites that are thought to complement each other.


FOUR ELEMENTS IN ASTROLOGY
In astrology opposite element couplings like water-fire and earth-wind weaken one another, while complementing element couplings like fire-air and water-earth support one another. Therefore as you look to the other side of the zodiac wheel to your opposite, it is actually not your opposite but your complement.

Like in life in general, if you are unable to find a complementing soul, you are probably going to stay away from those that are just diminishing you. That is the reason why you will be more likely to find your partner among complementing element and the element of your own.