Earth when combined with air in an individual makes for someone
well-versed in contradiction. Air lends a certain amount of caution and
thoughtfulness to the earthy pursuit of sensation and experience. On the
other side of the coin, earth forces air to interact with the world as a
whole, not allowing it to deny the value of the senses. If this sort of
personality can resolve this particular internal conflict, then it is
quite well versed in being able to apply concrete meaning to thought, or
rationality to the matters of existence and enjoyment in the physical
world.
Air and fire together make for a very powerful, logical personality. With
a complete lack of heavy elements, this person can easily detach from
mundane living and apply himself to what needs to be done with the full
force of fire's energy. Additionally, air mediates fire's somewhat
scattered tendencies by channeling them through logic, so that while an
air/fire person may be working on any of a number of things, all with full
energy and force of will, it is in a reasonable progression, and nothing
important will get left behind. While this person is not necessarily
deeply involved with the physical world, more often applying his force of
will to the mental, he is generally practical, because leaving things be
that have to be dealt with will only cause problems later.
Air and water make for another occasionally uneasy grouping. The deep
emotional realm of water and the cool logic of air do not fit together
easily. However, an integrated air/water personality will be able to care
deeply, but with reason keeping it from the greater disappointments that
come without caution. Both of these elements are adaptable, and therefore
this personality will be able to shift around a problem and regroup from a
different angle. However, as both of these elements have a tendency
towards the distant, this personality must be constantly on the alert for
this effect. An air/water combination may decide, after a particularly
jarring emotional disappointment, simply to close off from the rest of the
world and nurse the wound. In general, though, water's emotional depth
keeps air from becoming too aloof, while the air mitigates water's
moodiness and irrationality.
Earth and fire can combine in any of a number of ways. The easiest
metaphor for an earth and fire personality with fire in the dominant is
that of a lava flow Ñ fire's changeability has managed to do the evidently
impossible and move stone. This is an almost inexorable combination, as
the sheer strength and unyielding patience of earth is charged with fire's
passions. If earth is the dominant, the metaphor is more of a quiet
volcano, or possibly just an image of the earth itself Ñ outwardly calm,
inwardly rippling and powerful. In either case, the earth/fire
combination is one that will be able to achieve anything it truly sets
itself to doing Ñ fire's strength will fuel earth's determination, and
earth's unchanging grip on reality will channel fire into the correct
paths.
Earth and water in combination leads to something very sensual and moody
indeed. Without any of the distancing possible from the light elements,
this personality is easily drawn into the sensual, the exotic, and the
new. While earth does mitigate some of water's tendencies towards
mutability, this combination is still somewhat unpredictable, particularly
if water edges out earth as the dominant force. The combination of
deep-felt emotion and links to the senses makes this person very tied to
the world as it is, as well as its experiences.
Probably the most "unstable" combination of elements is fire and
water. Both of these are elements given over to passions of some sort or
another, and without the possible mitigations of any of the other
elements, this combination has a tendency to go a bit overboard. Emotions
are never felt more deeply than by someone who is fire and water, as
water's depth is powered by the sheer force inherent in fire. However,
these emotions are prone to change, often without warning, and without
apparent reason. Problems tend to phase a fire/water, as their general
inclinations are either to blast through or flow around them Ñ and these
approaches are fairly contradictory. Others often have trouble dealing
with this seeming indecision on the part of this sort of personality, as
well as their extremely changable natures.
When together, earth, air, and fire make for a very strong force in both
the rational and the physical. While the caution of the earth/air
combination is somewhat reduced, this is a person fully capable of
acting. This sort of action is often in the physical realm Ñ the transfer
of something conceived by air into the real world. Additionally, more
thought and creative force can be brought back from the actual into the
theoretical. This combination is the ultimate engineer Ñ the person who
understands on instinct not only how something works intellectually, but
actually, and has the force of will and creative urge to do something
about this knowledge.
Combinations of earth, water, and air are probably most common in the
world. This sort of personality has the potential for great depths of
feeling, a sound grounding in reality, and the rational instinct needed to
function truly effectively in a rationally ordered world. With this
triad, a person is not prone to excesses of any of these elements; he will
not delve into hedonism, nor will he withdraw from the universe
entirely. His emotions are very real things to him, but not
overwhelmingly so.
Fire, air, and water together make the ultimate adapter. This person is
unbound entirely. While he is still attached to the physical world
through his emotional ties, brought by water, he is not attached to the
physical itself Ñ rather its meaning, as can be intellectual or
emotional. He has the changability of all of the flowing elements, and
does not have the fixed point that is established by earth. Should the
air in this combination be repressed, however, this will cease to be a
stable adaptability, and instead turn into the somewhat bipolar tendency
of the fire/water combination alone Ñ with the added problem of a sort of
loss of control.
The last combination is earth, water, and fire. This personality does not
detach from the world in the slightest; the full range of emotions and
experiences are laid out for it to experience with an incredible set of
passions. Depending on which element is supreme, this personality may be
changeable or set in its ways Ñ should an earth/fire/water become set into
a habit, however, it is not going to be easy to change him. This person
is tenacious when following experiences, and will often get burned by
them. However, undaunted by whatever negative experiences he has had, he
will continue to pursue the new.
This is a very rare combination of elements Ñ all four, in approximately
equal proportions. It is also a very delicate personality to keep stable,
for, granted all of the contradictory impulses of the elements in lesser
combinations, when they are all incorporated it takes a very strong force
of will to remain in control.
Someone who is quarter-balanced has a great deal in common with someone
who has ether in his personality. Ether is best considered as all four
elements in equal proportion, carefully combined. A quarter-balanced
person has not resolved the differences among his elements to the point
that he can synthesize ether from them. This contributes to the
instability of the elemental setup; however, it gives an additional edge
in certain situations. It does not have the distance and experience of
ether, this is true, but it does have a greater ability to truly
act. Ether is often a reactive element; not so the quarter-balanced
personality. Fascinated by all aspects of the universe and still tightly
bound to them all, the quarter-balanced person will go out and do things
on a regular basis, often just to see what will happen.
This sort of person rarely has an exactly even balance. In fact, were
this personality to suddenly achieve a balanced moment within itself, it
would likely begin to create ether out of its component
elements. Instead, a quarter-balanced personality has one prime element,
the one that is most deeply related to his core. He will also have one
submissive element, a source of strength that can be tapped, but is not
always used.
Therefore, a quarter-balanced person will often seem to be like a triad
personality. The submissive element is not anywhere near the forefront,
and therefore can be easily forgotten about. This adds an edge of the
unpredictable to a quarter-balanced person's interactions Ñ it often seems
that he has settled into being one of the triads. However, as soon as
that last element is the necessary thing to have out, it will appear,
often to the great surprise of people who have forgotten that aspect of
the personality.
Ether is a special case when involved in combination with other
elements. It is most easily seen as a moderative force. It will, for
example, put an edge of reason on fire's passionate quests or water's deep
emotions, or introduce a slight bit of passion to the otherwise aloof air.
Further, ether reacts to all things slowly. This compounds with its
mitigating, wise influence, because whatever happens, it happens over a
longer period of time, with much time for reconsideration. This is not
necessarily patience; it is a side-effect of the fact that ether is not
entirely internally stable. It is a syntheseis of the four elements, and
retains enough cohesion to maintain itself. However, if it is presented
with a situation where, for example, the easiest reaction would be to
follow its earth impulse, it must be cautious to react with its entirety,
lest the earth break free and the ether disintegrate into component
fragments.
This is a very difficult element to actually live. Because of its grand
age and perspective, it is often alienating in and of itself. A person
with a large portion of ether within his or her personality must be able
to deal with a portion of himself that is far older than anything
else. In its own way of dealing with things, ether deals in absolutes and
abstractions Ñ the Platonic ideal of the tree, rather than the oak over
there. While this binds it tightly to the universe as a whole, it is a
very cerebral link, that is very difficult to master.
Moon
Index