View source for Fire (classical element)

{{short description|One of the four classical elements}}
{{classic element}}
{{about|the classical element|other uses of the term|Fire (disambiguation)}}
'''Fire''' is one of the four [[classical element]]s along with [[earth (classical element)|earth]], [[water (classical element)|water]] and [[air (classical element)|air]] in ancient [[Greek philosophy]] and science. Fire is considered to be both hot and dry and, according to [[Plato]], is associated with the [[tetrahedron]].

== Greek and Roman tradition ==

[[Fire]] is one of the four [[classical element]]s in ancient [[Greek philosophy]] and science.  It was commonly associated with the qualities of energy, assertiveness, and passion.  In one Greek myth, [[Prometheus]] stole ''fire'' from the gods to protect the otherwise helpless humans, but was punished for this charity.<ref name="F">{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.utk.edu/~Mclennan/BA/AGEDE/Fire.html|title=The Elements: Fire|website=Cs.utk.edu|access-date=2007-10-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029052110/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~Mclennan/BA/AGEDE/Fire.html|archive-date=2007-10-29}}</ref>

Fire was one of many ''[[Arche|archai]]'' proposed by the [[pre-Socratics]], most of whom sought to reduce the [[cosmos]], or its creation, to a single substance. [[Heraclitus]] {{nowrap|(c. 535 BCE –}} {{nowrap|c. 475 BCE)}} considered ''fire'' to be the most fundamental of all elements. He believed fire gave rise to the other three elements: "All things are an interchange for fire, and fire for all things, just like goods for gold and gold for goods."<ref name=DK90>[[Diels-Kranz]] B90 (Freeman [1948] 1970, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP45&pg=PA45 p. 45]).</ref> He had a reputation for obscure philosophical principles and for speaking in riddles. He described how fire gave rise to the other elements as the: "upward-downward path", ({{lang|grc|ὁδὸς ἄνω κάτω}}),<ref name=DK60>[[Diels-Kranz]] B60 (Freeman [1948] 1970, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP43&pg=PA43 p. 43]).</ref> a "hidden harmony"<ref name=DK54>[[Diels-Kranz]] B54 (Freeman [1948] 1970, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP42&pg=PA42 p. 42]).</ref> or series of transformations he called the "turnings of fire", ({{lang|grc|πυρὸς τροπαὶ}}),<ref name=DK31>[[Diels-Kranz]] B31 (Freeman [1948] 1970, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP40&pg=PA40 p. 40]).</ref> first into ''sea'', and half that ''sea'' into ''earth'', and half that ''earth'' into rarefied ''air''. This is a concept that anticipates both the four classical elements of [[Empedocles]] and [[Aristotle]]'s transmutation of the four elements into one another.
<blockquote>This world, which is the same for all, no one of gods or men has made. But it always was and will be: an ever-living fire, with measures of it kindling, and measures going out.<ref name=DK30>[[Diels-Kranz]] B30 (Freeman [1948] 1970, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP40&pg=PA40 p. 40]).</ref></blockquote> 
[[Heraclitus]] regarded the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] as being a mixture of fire and water, with fire being the more [[Nobility|noble]] part and water the ignoble aspect. He believed the goal of the soul is to be rid of water and become pure fire: the dry soul is the best and it is worldly pleasures that make the soul "moist".<ref name="russell">[[Bertrand Russell|Russell, Bertrand]], ''[[History of Western Philosophy (Russell)|History of Western Philosophy]]''</ref> He was known as the "weeping philosopher" and died of [[hydropsy]], a swelling due to abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

However, [[Empedocles]] of [[Agrigento|Akragas]] {{nowrap|(c. 495 –}} {{nowrap|c. 435 BCE)}}, is best known for having selected all elements as his ''archai'' and by the time of [[Plato]] {{nowrap|(427–}}{{nowrap|347 BCE)}}, the four Empedoclian elements were well established. In the ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', Plato's major cosmological dialogue, the [[Platonic solid]] he associated with fire was the [[tetrahedron]] which is formed from four triangles and contains the least volume with the greatest surface area. This also makes fire the element with the smallest number of sides, and Plato regarded it as appropriate for the heat of fire, which he felt is sharp and stabbing, (like one of the points of a tetrahedron).<ref>Plato, ''Timaeus'', chap. 22–23; Gregory Vlastos, ''Plato’s Universe'', pp. 66–82.</ref>

Plato's student [[Aristotle]] {{nowrap|(384–}}{{nowrap|322 BCE)}} did not maintain his former teacher's geometric view of the elements, but rather preferred a somewhat more naturalistic explanation for the elements based on their traditional qualities. Fire the hot and dry element, like the other elements, was an abstract principle and not identical with the normal solids, liquids and combustion phenomena we experience:
<blockquote> What we commonly call fire. It is not really fire, for fire is an excess of heat and a sort of ebullition; but in reality, of what we call air, the part surrounding the earth is moist and warm, because it contains both vapour and a dry exhalation from the earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/meteorology/book1.html|title=Meteorology, by Aristotle (Book I, Section 3)|website=Ebooks.adelaide.edu.au|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011014050/https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/a/aristotle/meteorology/book1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
</blockquote>
According to Aristotle, the four elements rise or fall toward their natural place in concentric layers surrounding the center of the Earth and form the terrestrial or [[sublunary sphere]]s.<ref>[[G. E. R. Lloyd]], ''Aristotle'', chapters 7–8.</ref>

In [[Medicine in ancient Greece|ancient Greek medicine]], each of the [[four humours]] became associated with an element. Yellow [[bile]] was the humor identified with fire, since both were hot and dry. Other things associated with fire and yellow bile in ancient and [[Medieval medicine of Western Europe|medieval medicine]] included the season of summer, since it increased the qualities of heat and aridity; the choleric temperament (of a person dominated by the yellow bile humour); the [[Masculinity|masculine]]; and the eastern point of the compass.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

[[Image:fire symbol (alchemical).svg|thumb|△, the alchemical symbol for fire|upright]]

In [[alchemy]] the [[chemical element]] of [[sulfur]] was often associated with fire and its [[alchemical symbol]] and its symbol was an upward-pointing triangle. In alchemic tradition, metals are incubated by fire in the womb of the Earth and alchemists only accelerate their development.<ref name="F"/>

== Indian tradition ==
{{Main|Agni}}

Agni is a [[Hindu]] and [[Rigvedic deities|Vedic deity]].  The word ''agni'' is [[Sanskrit]] for fire (noun), cognate with [[Latin]] ''ignis'' (the root of English ''ignite''), Russian ''огонь'' (fire), pronounced ''agon''. Agni has three forms: fire, lightning and the sun.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-27 |title=Fire (Agni/Tejas) in Hinduism: Sacred Element, Scriptures, Temples & Spiritual Legacy |url=https://hinduvism.com/fire-agni-tejas-in-hinduism-sacred-element/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Agni is one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the accepter of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the [[deity|deities]] because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods. He is ever-young, because the fire is re-lit every day, yet he is also immortal. In Indian tradition fire is also linked to [[Surya]] or the Sun and [[Mangala]] or [[Mars]], and with the south-east direction.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Teukāya [[ekendriya]] is a name used in [[Jainism|Jain]] tradition which refers to [[Jīva (Jainism)|Jīvas]] said to be [[reincarnation|reincarnated]] as fire.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Journal of the Department of Letters|volume=5|journal=Journal of the Department of Letters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDxQAQAAMAAJ&dq=Ekendriya&pg=PA352|page=352|author=University of Calcutta: Department of Letters|date=1921|publisher=Calcutta University Press, originally from [[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

== Ceremonial magic ==

Fire and the other Greek classical elements were incorporated into the [[Golden Dawn tradition|Golden Dawn]] system.  Philosophus (4=7) is the elemental grade attributed to fire; this grade is also attributed to the [[Hermetic Qabalah|Qabalistic]] [[Sefirot|Sephirah]] [[Netzach]] and the planet [[Venus]].<ref>Israel Regardie, ''The Golden Dawn'', pp. 154–65.</ref> The [[magical weapon|elemental weapon]] of fire is the Wand.<ref>Regardie, ''Golden Dawn''</ref> Each of the elements has several associated spiritual beings. The archangel of fire is [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], the angel is Aral, the ruler is Seraph, the king is Djin, and the fire [[elemental]]s (following [[Paracelsus]]) are called [[Salamander (legendary creature)|salamanders]].<ref>Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', p. 80.</ref> Fire is considered to be active; it is represented by the symbol for [[Leo (astrology)|Leo]] and it is referred to the lower right point of the [[pentacle]] in the Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentacle.<ref>Regardie, ''Golden Dawn'', pp. 280–286; Kraig, ''Modern Magick'', pp. 206–209.</ref> Many of these associations have since spread throughout the occult community.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

==Tarot==
Fire in [[Tarot card reading|tarot]] symbolizes conversion or passion.  Many references to fire in tarot are related to the usage of fire in the practice of [[alchemy]], in which the application of fire is a prime method of conversion, and everything that touches fire is changed, often beyond recognition. The symbol of fire was a cue pointing towards transformation, the chemical variant being the symbol delta, which is also the classical symbol for fire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tarotteachings.com/fire-symbolism-in-tarot.html|title=Fire Symbolism in Tarot|website=Taroteachings.com|access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref> Conversion symbolized can be good, for example, refining raw crudities to gold, as seen in [[The Devil (Tarot card)|The Devil]]. Conversion can also be bad, as in [[The Tower (Tarot card)|The Tower]], symbolizing a downfall due to anger. Fire is associated with the [[Suit of wands|suit of rods/wands]], and as such, represents passion from inspiration. As an element, fire has mixed symbolism because it represents energy, which can be helpful when controlled, but volatile if left unchecked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.corax.com/tarot/index.html?element-of-fire|title=Raven's Tarot Site|website=Corax.com|access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref>

==Modern witchcraft==
Fire is one of the [[Classical element|five elements]] that appear in most [[Wicca]]n traditions influenced by the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn|Golden Dawn]] system of magic, and [[Aleister Crowley]]'s mysticism, which was in turn inspired by the Golden Dawn.<ref>Hutton, pp. 216–23; Valiente, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, p. 17.</ref>

==Freemasonry==
[[File:Fuego en la ceremonia de la cena del solsticio de invierno (Muy Resp.'. Gr.'. Log.'. Nacional Mexicana "Independencia No. 2").jpg|thumb|Fire during the winter solstice ceremony (Most Worshipful Grand National Mexican Lodge "Independencia No. 2") at the Tlatelolco Conventions Center (Manuel González 171, col. San Simón Tolnáhuac, del. Cuauhtémoc).]]In [[freemasonry]], fire is present, for example, during the ceremony of [[winter solstice]], a symbol also of renaissance and energy. Freemasonry takes the ancient symbolic meaning of fire and recognizes its double nature: creation, light, on the one hand, and destruction and purification, on the other.<ref>Daza, J. C. (1997). ''Diccionario Akal de la masonería''. Madrid: Akal. {{ISBN|84-460-0738-X}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Fire]]
* [[Fire god]]
* [[Fire worship]]
* [[Pyrokinesis]]
* [[Pyromancy]]
* [[Pyromania]]
* [[Aries (astrology)]]
* [[Leo (astrology)]]
* [[Sagittarius (astrology)]]
{{end div col}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[James George Frazer|Frazer, Sir James George]], ''Myths of the Origin of Fire'', London: Macmillan, 1930.
* {{wikicite |ref=DK |reference=[[Kathleen Freeman (classicist)|Freeman, Kathleen]] & [[Hermann Alexander Diels|Diels, Hermann]]; ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ASijqFryr5IC&lpg=PP38&pg=PA38 Ancilla to the Pre-Socratic Philosophers]: a complete translation of the fragments in Diels, [https://books.google.com/books?id=2XZKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA54 Fragmente der Vorsokratiker]''. {{ISBN|978-1-60680-256-4}}. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, [1948] 1970.}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fire symbols}}
* [http://www.friesian.com/elements.htm Different versions of the classical elements]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070706044038/http://www.healthspace.eu/health/regular/healthspace.php Overview the 5 elements]
* [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khin/wheel231.html Section on 4 elements in Buddhism]
* [http://www.mheu.org/en/fire/ a virtual exhibition about the history of fire]

{{Stoicism}}

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[[Category:Classical elements]]
[[Category:Esoteric cosmology]]
[[Category:Fire in culture]]
[[Category:Technical factors of astrology]]
[[Category:History of astrology]]
[[Category:Concepts in ancient Greek metaphysics]]