Anelemental is a mythicsupernatural being that is described inoccult andalchemical works from around the time of the EuropeanRenaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works ofParacelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent followers, there are four categories of elementals, which aregnomes,undines,sylphs, andsalamanders.[1] These correspond to the fourEmpedoclean elements of antiquity:earth,water,air, andfire, respectively. Terms employed for beings associated with alchemical elements vary by source and gloss.
The Paracelsian concept of elementals draws from several much older traditions in mythology and religion. Common threads can be found infolklore,animism, andanthropomorphism. Examples of creatures such as thePygmy were taken fromGreek mythology.
Theelements of earth, water, air, and fire, were classed as the fundamental building blocks of nature. This system prevailed in theClassical world and was highly influential inmedievalnatural philosophy. Although Paracelsus uses these foundations and the popular preexisting names of elemental creatures, he is doing so to present new ideas which expand on his own philosophical system. Thehomunculus is another example of a Paracelsian idea with roots in earlier alchemical, scientific, and folklore traditions.
In his 16th-century workA Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits,Paracelsus identified mythological beings as belonging to one of the four elements. Part of thePhilosophia Magna, this book was first printed in 1566 after Paracelsus' death.[2] He wrote the book to "describe the creatures that are outside the cognizance of the light of nature, how they are to be understood, what marvellous works God has created". He states that there is more bliss in describing these "divine objects" than in describing fencing, court etiquette, cavalry, and other worldly pursuits.[3] The following is his archetypal being for each of the four elements:[4]
The concept of elementals seems to have been conceived byParacelsus in the 16th century, though he did not in fact use the term "elemental" or a German equivalent.[5] He regarded them not so much as spirits but as beings between creatures and spirits, generally being invisible to mankind but having physical and commonly humanoid bodies, as well as eating, sleeping, and wearing clothes like humans. Paracelsus gave common names for the elemental types, as well as correct names, which he seems to have considered somewhat more proper, "recht namen". He also referred to them by purely German terms which are roughly equivalent to "water people," "mountain people," and so on, using all the different forms interchangeably. His fundamental classification scheme on the first page of Tractatus II of theBook on Nymphs is based on where the elementals live, and he gives the following names:
| Correct name (translated) | Alternate name (Latin) | Element in which it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Nymph | Undina (undine) | Water |
| Sylph | Sylvestris (wild man) | Air |
| Pygmy | Gnomus (gnome) | Earth |
| Salamander | Vulcanus | Fire |
Of the names he used,gnomus,undina, andsylph are all thought to have appeared first in Paracelsus' works, thoughundina is a fairly obvious Latin derivative from the wordunda meaning "wave."
InDe Meteoris he referred to the elementals collectively asSagani.[6]
He noted that undines are similar to humans in size, while sylphs are rougher, coarser, longer, and stronger. Gnomes are short, while salamanders are long, narrow, and lean. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Gnomes, for example, can move through rocks, walls, and soil. Sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air as we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck. Paracelsus states that each one stays healthy in its particular "chaos," as he terms it, but dies in the others.
Paracelsus conceived human beings to be composed of three parts, an elemental body, a sidereal spirit, and an immortal divine soul. Elementals lacked this last part, the immortal soul. However, by marriage with a human being, the elemental and its offspring could gain a soul.[7]
In his influentialDe Occulta Philosophia, published in 1531–33,[8] several decades before the publication of Paracelsus'Philosophia Magna,Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa also wrote of four classes of spirits corresponding to the four elements. However, he did not give special names for the classes: "In like manner they distribute these into more orders, so as some are fiery, some watery, some aerial, some terrestrial." Agrippa did however give an extensive list of various mythological beings of this type, although without clarifying which belongs to which elemental class.[9] Like Paracelsus, he did not use the term "elemental spirit"per se.
A 1670 French satire of occult philosophy,Comte de Gabalis, was prominent in popularizing Paracelsus' theory of elementals.[10] It particularly focused on the idea of elemental marriage discussed by Paracelsus. In the book, the titular "Count ofKabbalah" explains that members of his order (to which Paracelsus is said to belong) refrain from marriage to human beings in order to retain their freedom to bestow souls upon elementals.Comte de Gabalis used the termssylphide andgnomide to refer to female sylphs and gnomes (often "sylphid" and "gnomid" in English translations). Male nymphs (the term used instead of the Paracelsian "undine") are said to be rare, while female salamanders are rarely seen.[11]
TheRosicrucians claimed to be able to see such elemental spirits. To be admitted to their society, it was previously necessary for the eyes to be purged with thePanacea or "Universal Medicine," a legendary alchemical substance with miraculous curative powers. As well, glass globes would be prepared with one of the four elements and for one month exposed to beams of sunlight. With these steps the initiated would see innumerable beings immediately. These beings, known as elementals, were said to be longer lived than man but ceased to exist upon death. However, if the elemental were to wed a mortal, they would become immortal. This exception seemed to work in reverse when it came to immortals, though, for if an elemental were to wed an immortal being, the immortal would gain the mortality of the elemental. One of the conditions of joining the Rosicrucians however, was a vow of chastity in hopes of marrying an elemental.[12]
TheFour Heavenly Kings rule over the eastern, southern, western and northern cardinal directions which are inhabited bygandharvas,kumbhandas,nāgas, andyakshas, respectively. These spiritual beings are reminiscent of the elementals found in the Paracelsian tradition. Different Buddhist traditions in Asia, including those ofTibet andChina associate the cardinal directions withelements as well.[13]
InJainism, there is a superficially similar concept within its generalcosmology, theekendriya jiva, "one-sensed beings" with bodies (kaya) that are composed of a single element, albeit with a 5-element system (earth, water, air, fire, and plant), but these beings are actual physical objects and phenomena such as rocks, rain, fires and so on which are endowed with souls (jiva).[14] In the Paracelsian concept, elementals are conceived more as supernatural humanoid beings which are much like human beings except for lacking souls. This is quite the opposite from the Jain conception which rather than positing soulless elementals is positing that physical objects have some type of soul and that what are commonly considered inanimate objects have this particular type of soul.
In contemporary times there are those who study and practice rituals to invoke elementals. These include Wiccans, and followers of nature-based religions.[15][citation needed]
Elementals became popular characters in Romantic literature after Paracelsus. Even by the 17th century, elemental spirits after the Paracelsian concept appeared in works byJohn Dryden and in theComte de Gabalis.[16]Alexander Pope citedComte de Gabalis as his source for elemental lore in his 1712 poemThe Rape of the Lock.
The Sprites of fiery Termagants in Flame
Mount up, and take a Salamander's name.
Soft yielding minds to Water glide away,
And sip, with Nymphs, their elemental Tea.
The graver Prude sinks downward to a Gnome,
In search of mischief still on Earth to roam.
The light Coquettes in Sylphs aloft repair,
And sport and flutter in the fields of Air.
— Alexander Pope, the Rape of the Lock, Canto 1
Fouqué's wildly popular 1811 novellaUndine is one of the most influential literary examples. Another example is the DC Comics superhero team The Elementals, composed of the characters Gnome, Sylph, Salamander, and Undine.[17]
Blackwood introduces an elemental in the novellaThe Nemesis of Fire. Elementals related to the four classical elements appeared in the fiction ofMichael Moorcock, notably his 1972 novelElric of Melniboné, anda variant appeared in the 1970sDungeons & Dragonsrole-playing game. The concept has since been expanded on in numerous otherfantasy,computer andtrading card games.
| Subgenres |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media |
| ||||||||||
| Awards | |||||||||||
| Fandom | |||||||||||
| Tropes |
| ||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
