Three Books of Occult Philosophy

...moreover, when evaporated, [water] passes into air; and air, when overheated, passes into fire. Fire, when extinguished, returns to air; but when cooled from extreme burning, it becomes earth, stone, or sulfur, as is evident from lightning original: "fulmine". Plato, however, believes that earth is entirely unchangeable, while the other elements are transformed into it and into one another. Thus, earth is divided by the subtler elements—not transformed, but dissolved or mixed into those things which dissolve it—returning again to itself. Each of the elements has two specific qualities, the first of which it retains as its own, while in the second it agrees with the following element as a middle ground. For fire is hot and dry; earth is dry and cold; water is cold and moist; and air is moist and hot. In this way, according to two contrary qualities, the elements are opposed to each other: fire to water, and earth to air. Furthermore, the elements are opposed in another way: for some are heavy, like earth and water, and others are light, like air and fire. For this reason, the Stoics Stoici|Ancient philosophers who viewed the universe as a rational, living organism driven by active and passive principles called the former "passive" and the latter "active." Furthermore, Plato, distinguishing them in another way, assigns three qualities to each: to fire, namely, sharpness, rarity, and motion; but to earth, darkness, density, and rest. According to these qualities, the elements of fire and earth are contraries. The remaining elements change their qualities from these, so that air receives two qualities of fire—rarity and motion—and one from earth, namely darkness. Conversely, water receives two from earth—darkness and density—and one from fire, namely motion. But fire is twice as rare as air, three times as mobile, and four times as sharp. Air is twice as sharp as water, three times as rare, and four times as mobile. Likewise, water is twice as sharp as earth, three times as rare, and four times as mobile. Therefore, as fire is to air, so is air to water, and water to earth. And again, as earth is to water, so is water to air, and air to fire. This is the root and foundation of all bodies, natures, powers, and wonderful works; and whoever knows these qualities of the elements and their mixtures will easily perform marvelous and stupendous works and will be perfected in natural magic Magia naturali|The practice of using the inherent powers of the natural world, rather than calling upon spirits or demons, to achieve results.

Decorative drop cap 'Q' featuring a cherub or child's face within a circular frame surrounded by foliage. There are, then, four elements which we have mentioned, without the perfect knowledge of which we can produce no effect in Magic. Moreover, each of them is threefold, so that the number four the four elements completes the number twelve often associated with the signs of the Zodiac; and progressing through the seven to the ten, it reaches the supreme unity—from which all power and wonderful operation depend. In the first order, therefore, the elements are pure; they are neither composed nor changed, nor do they undergo mixing, but are incorruptible. It is not from them, but through them, that the powers of all natural things are brought into effect. Their powers can be explained by no one, because they can do all things in all things. He who is ignorant of these cannot reach the operation of any marvelous effects. The elements of the second order are composed, manifold, varied, and impure; yet they can be reduced by art to pure simplicity; to these then...