Base Elements: Air

Air to the alchemist represents the mind and soul of mankind. Air in alchemy is the breath of life; God breathed into Adam. Air is also the sacred name of God, YHWH or Yahweh.

Air’s principle is mobility and the creative facilities of the mind, giving life to new ideas and the possibility of a world reborn. To the ancient Chinese, air is the Qi or Chi, the energy flow that moves like a stream through all of God’s creation.

To the Hindu it is the Prana, the divine substance that gives life to all living things in the universe. To the Buddhist air is the Om, the foundation of all meditation and mental focus that brings us closer to the mind of the divine.

Air as a alchemical element, bridges the gap between fire and water. Air gives us a doorway to connect our sexual energies to our passions and desires, giving birth to new perspectives and allowing us to feel comfortable as we gain new revelations and make life changes.

To the Platonist, air is the infancy state of mankind, just beginning to exercise our mental and spiritual capacities on our path of self-awareness and intelligence.

In Egypt, air was an expression of the god Shu, who allowed the pharaohs of old to transcend the material realm and soar into the rays of the sun god, Ra.

Air is a masculine quality and the opposite of its fixed feminine counterpart, earth. Where earth is easy to determine and defined, air is constantly moving and hard to nail down.

Air is most characterized by the wind. The wind is forever present yet invisible, powerful yet comforting, terrifying yet liberating.