The elemental order:

What appealed most to me about elemental systems is how the idea is possibly as old as storytelling itself, and fortunately, the Five Rings helped my story come together to make a whole lot more sense.

Analyzing the pseudoscience, I started to wonder if there was any significance to the order of the elements; it seemed like there was virtually no consistency to what order the elements were presented in as I did research.

But, with a little more research in that direction, I found that various sub-cultures had at least attempted to make sense of the elemental order.

The astrologists seem to think it’s Fire first, then Earth, then Air, and finally, Water.
Fire = Aries, Leo, & Sagittarius.
Earth = Taurus, Virgo, & Capricorn.
Air = Gemini, Libra, & Aquarius.
Water = Cancer, Scorpio, & Pisces.
Interestingly, most astrologists still feel the classic elements are necessary to properly interpret an astrological chart.
There are mysterious problems I see with this setup, though. Like why is Aquarius, the water carrier, associated to Air?

According to Tarot readers, it’s Water, Air, Fire, and Earth, corresponding respectively to Cups, Swords, Wands, and Pentacles. Frankly, I’m not sure what ‘Air’ has to do with ‘Swords’, etc. And I can find no explanation as to why this elemental order was chosen over another. If anyone can enlighten me, please do. Read the rest of this entry »