Earth Element

Origin and tradition

In classical Greek cosmovision, Earth is the heaviest and coldest element, opposite to light, hot Fire. It is the sustaining element: that which gives stable form to reality. In many mythologies, Earth is a primordial mother goddess: Greek Gaia, Andean Pachamama, Roman Terra Mater, Hindu Prithvi. The body from which everything is born and to which everything returns.

In medieval alchemy, Earth represents the raw matter that must be purified and transformed to reveal the hidden gold. In Kabbalah, it corresponds to Malkuth, the sefirah of the material kingdom and final manifestation of the divine flow. The earthly is not opposed to the spiritual: it is its visible incarnation.

Earth in the zodiac and tarot

In astrology, the Earth signs are Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. They share qualities: practicality, patience, perseverance, sense of detail, ability to build long-term, solid roots, sensoriality. People with many planets in Earth signs tend to be reliable, patient, productive. Their shadow: stubbornness, materialism, excessive slowness, aversion to change.

In tarot, Earth is associated with the suit of Pentacles: the cards of money, work, properties, physical health, material resources. In Wicca, Earth is invoked at the north of the altar and represented with salt, garden soil or stones. Its correspondences include late winter, the night, green or ochre colour, forest and cave animals, root herbs (ginger, mallow root).

How to work with Earth

If you lack Earth, practices to cultivate it include contact with nature, gardening, cooking dense food, doing things with your hands (pottery, carpentry, weaving), resting more, saving and organising the material. If you have excess Earth, it should be tempered with practices of Air (reading, travel, conversation) and Fire (intense exercise, small risks).