top of page

Astrology for Beginners: The Four Elements and Astrology

Writer: Orhan Oğuz YILMAZOrhan Oğuz YILMAZ

“He put up some nicer signs. With the stars, people find their way…”

Surah An-Nahl, Verse 16


The world demands four proportions from divine truths. These; life, knowledge, will and power. When these four ratios are fixed for the necessary, it is valid that he is the creator of the world without hesitation. According to this, life and science are the two principals in proportions. Will and power are below them. The main thing is life. Because it is a condition for the existence of knowledge. The field of interest is general. Because science is related to the possible and the impossible, just as its existence is related to the necessary. The will is under it. Because the will can only attach to the possible in order to choose itself with one of existence and non-existence. Accordingly, the will can almost demand life. The will is therefore the passive of life. It is more general than might. Kudret is better. Power is about the creation of the possible, not the destruction. In this respect, power is like the passive of knowledge. Because power in the face of science is like knowledge in the face of life[1].


Alem, ilahi hakikatlerden dört nispet talep eder. Bunlar; hayat, ilim, irade ve kudrettir. Varlığı zorunlu için bu dört nispet sabit olunca, onun tereddütsüz bir şekilde alemin var edeni olduğu geçerlidir. Buna göre hayat ve ilim, nispetlerdeki iki asıldır. İrade ve kudret ise onların aşağısında bulunur. Asıl, hayattır. Çünkü o, ilmin varlığındaki şarttır. İlmin ilgi alanı ise geneldir. Çünkü ilim, varlığı zorunluya iliştiği gibi mümküne ve imkansıza da ilişir. İrade ise onun altında bulunur. Çünkü irade varlık ve yokluktan biriyle kendisini tercih etmek üzere, sadece mümküne ilişebilir. Buna göre iradeyi adeta hayat talep edebilir. Dolayısıyla irade hayatın edilginidir. O, kudretten daha geneldir. Kudret ise daha güzeldir. Kudret, mümkünün yok edilmesine değil, var edilmesine ilişir. Bu yönüyle kudret, ilmin edilgini gibidir. Çünkü ilim karşısında kudret, hayat karşısında ilim gibidir[1].
Astrology for Beginners: The Four Elements and Astrology

When the degrees diverged in these divine proportions in the form of the separation of the effect from the passive, the realm thus emerged as active and passive. The world, in relation to Allah, is passive and created in its entirety; According to him, he is active and passive. Allah created the First Intellect out of the proportion of life, and the soul out of the proportion of knowledge. Thus, just as life is a condition for the existence of knowledge, the mind has become a condition for the existence of the soul. What came into being from the mind and soul became wasted and the universal body. These four things are the origin of the emergence of images in the world[1].


FOUR ELEMENTS

There is a natural level between Nafs and Heba. Nature is based on four truths: two of them are active and two are passive. All of them are at the level of passivity according to what they emerge from. Thus, heat, coldness, dryness and wetness were formed. Dryness is the passive of heat, and wetness is the passive of coldness. In this context, warmth came from the mind, and the mind came from life. For this reason, the seal of life in bodies composed of elements is temperature. Coldness consists of the soul, and the soul consists of knowledge. For this reason, when knowledge is settled in the heart, the coolness of belief is described as dignity. When dryness and wetness, heat and coldness were eliminated, the will wanted dryness. Because dryness is at the level of will. Kudret also wanted the old age at his own level. Since power is related to creation, life has been the most suitable thing for him. It is the temperature and age of the objects. Thus, forms and shapes emerged in the universal body in waste, while the sky and the earth were covered without separating from each other[2].


Allah has tended to break this rolled thing apart and wanted to distinguish its beings from each other. The essence of their existence was water. That's why Allah says, "We made everything alive from water." Since everything is alive, it is characterized by the feature of rosary. First of all, God gave these four natures a special shape. It added warmth to dryness and became a plain intelligible fire. His rule has emerged in three places within the body of the Throne, which consists of the distant sphere and the universal body. He named the first place Aries, the second place, which is the fifth of the places that he was appreciated, Leo, and the third place, which is the ninth of the places that were appreciated in the Arsh, Sagittarius. Then he added the coldness to the dryness, and revealed the authority of these two in three places in this realm, which is plain intelligible soil. He named the first place Taurus, the second Virgo, and the third Capricorn. Then, adding warmth to wetness, plain, sensible air came into being. He manifested his decree in three places of distant heaven. He named the first space Gemini, the second Libra, and the third Aquarius. Then he added the coldness to the wetness, became plain-intelligible water, and revealed its judgment in three places of the distant sphere, naming the first place as Cancer, the second place as Scorpion and the third place as Pisces. Such is the hypothetical division of the zodiac sphere into twelve. Twenty-eight planets determine this division. Allah said: "They were rolled up, we separated them."[3].


Fire, water, air and earth. These are all bodies, the original basis of things. All elementary, lower bodies consist of their combination. Things are formed not by the accumulation of these elements, but by changing and combining them. When things are resolved, they break down into these elements. There is no pure among the sensible elements. As soil, dirt becomes, dissolves, becomes water, it thickens, solidifies and becomes soil again. It evaporates with heat and passes into the air, and when ignited, it turns into fire. When this burns out, it goes back into the air. When it burns and cools, it becomes earth, stone, sulfur. This is revealed by lightning. Plato, too, was of the opinion that the world could change completely, that the elements were changed one after the other, one after the other[4].


Fire, hot and dry; the earth is dry and cold; water, cold and damp; The weather is humid and hot. According to this, the elements are opposite to each other according to two opposing qualities: fire and water, earth and air. The Stoics called the former passive, the latter active, and added 3 qualities to them; brilliance and delicacy in fire, movement; to earth, darkness, thickness and stillness; According to these qualities, fire and earth are opposites[5].


Each item has 3 floors. Thus, with 4 elements, the number 12 is reached. There can be a progression to supreme unity by going from the number seven to the number ten. In the first level there are pure elements and they are homogeneous, not allowing mixing. There are compounds of the second level that can be purified by chemistry. At the third level there are actually things, not elements, and these things have been mixed more than twice. But let's see that someone who knows how to reduce one order to another, the impure to the pure, the combined to the simple; A person who knows how to understand the power, nature, power effect of things in numbers, insignia, in sequences, clearly, without dividing the substance, can easily reach this knowledge, obviously, a perfect knowledge of all natural things, of the heavenly secrets[6].


FIRE

“These are those who gave guidance and forgiveness and bought straying. How resistant they are to fire.”

Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 175


Its nature is warmth and dryness, and it is opposed to other elements because it is considered absolute supreme. Since it accepts burning and closure, formation and decomposition are capable of taking various forms.


As Hermes said, two things for the wonderful things to work; earth with fire is enough. The first is active, the second is passive. As Dionysius said, fire is in everything. It comes and goes as bright as all things. It is bright in everything, it exists but is hidden, it is unknown but active. Fire is unlimited and invisible when it is by itself. Although fire is one in itself, as Cleantes witnessed in Cicero, it is many in the field, distributed in different forms to different substances. It is in the stones, brought by the strike of steel. It is in the ground, producing the smoke that is produced when it is dug. It is in the water, it heats springs, wells. It is in the depths of the sea, warming the sea with the beat of the winds. It's in the air, it burns it. The nature of the fire above is warmth, it makes all things fruitful. He is the light, giving life to all things. However, the attributes of hellfire are scorching heat and darkness. Therefore, just as the spirits of darkness are powerful in darkness, angels of light are augmented not only by the divine light of the sun, the celestial, but also by our ordinary fire[7]. As Pythagoras said, "Don't talk to God without light"...


WEATHER

“We also gave the strong wind to Süleyman's service. The wind would blow to the place in which we created blessings at his command. We are all-knowing.”

Surah Anbiya, Verse 81


Therefore, the natural place of the air sphere is below the fire sphere and above the water sphere. He is naturally calm in his own place and has only his own movements. Quietly its name is air. If it moves, they call it the wind. The element of air is subtle, transparent and colorless. Its nature is temperature and humidity. Because of its ascendant feature, it is opposed to other elements. It is capable of finding forms by formation and decomposition. Because, even when the air is in its own place, it transforms into other elements.


Air is a vital spirit, it passes through existence, gives life, nourishes, binds, moves and fills all things. For the Hebrews, air is the spirit that resonates with the sound of the earth instrument. He directly receives the influence of all celestial bodies. It transmits this effect to all mixed bodies, as well as to other elements. Air, like a divine mirror, contains, holds and carries the image of everything natural and artificial, all kinds of speech. It penetrates the bodies of people and animals, their pores, and affects them as they are awake while they are asleep. Many philosophers of the air; believes that dreams are the source of many other impressions of the master. Images or the like, images preserved in the air, come to the senses, and then to phantasy. A person who is free from anxiety, who is not prevented in any way, who is waiting to meet with such images, takes their souls and is informed by them. For though the images of things, by their proper nature, are carried over to the senses of men and other animals, they may also receive some impressions from heaven. Because of the disposition and disposition of those who receive these impressions, celestial impressions are carried more to the senses of the one than to the senses of the other. Meanwhile they are in the air, one's nature is carried further with them, reaching the senses of another who receives them. So naturally one can show his intellect to another man from a far, unknown place. There is no need for another spirit to come between the two.[8]


SOIL

“It is one of His signs that He created you from dust. Then you saw that you are spreading as human beings. “

Surah Rum, Verse 20


Since it was found to be absolute heavy, its natural place is under the elements, and it stood motionless in place by pulling and protecting its parts. This earth element is a spherical body surrounded by a single surface. It is the center of the sphere, the center of the realm, and the feet of all ummahs. The earth element, like the others, is capable of finding various forms through formation and decomposition. Because, even when it is in its own place, it transforms into other elements. The reason why the coldness and dryness of this earth element coexist is because of the hardness and adhesion; Its back is a place and shelter for living things, and its belly is the beginning and source for mines and plants. It has been proved by many proofs that its shape is a sphere. It is well known that there are no mountains higher than two and a half leagues in the whole world, because the ratio of the highest height of the mountains to the diameter of the earth is like the ratio of one barley width to one zira. Therefore, these mountains do not prevent the earth from becoming a sphere.


The basis of all elements is soil. Earth is the object, subject and receiver of all celestial rays and effects. The seeds of everything, the seed power effects are hidden in it. Soil is like the first resource. Everything springs from it, it is the center, the foundation, the mother of all. If you take the separated, washed, purified, thinned soil to the extent you wish and leave it in the open air for a while, plants, worms, and other creatures will appear spontaneously, as it is full of heavenly power effects. If it is purified by fire, if it is reduced to its simplicity by proper washing, there are great secrets in it. Soil is the substance of our creation, the real medicine that repairs and protects us[9].


Since all stones are related to the soil, they are naturally heavy, descending, solidified in dryness, and cannot be melted. However, metals are aquatic and can be melted. Metals are created from a viscous water, the silver color of the water lives in them. Naturalists accept this, chemists see it as true. Plants are very close to the air. They neither bud nor develop unless they are out in the open air. Thus in the nature of all animals there is the most fiery power. It also comes from a celestial source. Fire is natural to them, they die when extinguished. Besides, bones in animals, soil; flesh, air; vital spirit to fire; Sulaks[10] are like water. These suckers get a share of the items. Because yellow bile replaces fire; blood replaces air, phlegm replaces water, black bile or melancholy replaces earth. Understanding in the soul to fire; us into the air; imagination, water; the senses are like the earth. In the senses they are divided into elements among themselves. Sight is firefighting because it cannot perceive without light with fire. Hearing is avionic because sound is produced by the impact of air. Smell and taste are like water, without the moisture of water there is neither taste nor smell. Sensation, on the other hand, is purely earthy, its object is large bodies. Earth, slow, steady movement; water indicates cowardice, heaviness in work, imperfection. The air signifies joy, sweet, lovable creation. Fire indicates fast, fiery, angry creation. Elements are in everything. Their power effects extend to all things[11].


WATER

“Allah will also produce for you crops, olives, dates, grapes and other kinds of products with water. In this are signs for a people who reflect. “

Surah Nahl, Verse 11


Zamzam water is a cure for all diseases. The benefits of fresh water are many. But there is nothing greater than quenching the thirst. Even the water element does not have a color like the others, but turns into an object that it mixes with. It takes its nature. For example, if the object with which the water is mixed is vinegar, the water becomes vinegar. If it is honey, it will be honey. Being absolute water, it accepts all colors and flavors. It removes all the dirt and oil and flows away.


Water and air are as mysterious and beyond marvelous as fire and earth. All living things need water. Even a plant or grass cannot take root without water. The seeds of trees, plants, even if they are above ground, must be rooted in water before they are necessarily rooted. The necessity of water is no less than that of fire. The benefits are endless; it is the being that carries, produces, feeds and increases everything, and water also has a memory. In mythology, it is argued that water is the most powerful first element and therefore all things need water. Because water swallows the earth, extinguishes the fire, and goes up to penetrate the clouds, forming the sky itself[1].

 

[1] İbn Arabi, Fütuhatı Mekkiyye, Çeviren Ekrem Demirli, İstanbul: Litera Yayıncılık, 2.Cilt, 6. Baskı 2020, syf: 388 [2] İbn Arabi, Fütuhatı Mekkiyye, Çeviren Ekrem Demirli, İstanbul: Litera Yayıncılık, 2.Cilt, 6. Baskı 2020, syf: 389 [3] İbn Arabi, Fütuhatı Mekkiyye, Çeviren Ekrem Demirli, İstanbul: Litera Yayıncılık, 2.Cilt, 6. Baskı 2020, syf: 389 - 390 [4] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 34 [5] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 35 [6] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 36 - 37 [7] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 38 - 39 [8] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 43 – 46 [9] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 40 [10] Organizmanın kan, lenf, safra, balgam gibi sıvı bölümleri. [11] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Gizli Felsefe ya da Büyü Felsefesi, Çeviren Levent Özşer, İsanbul: Biblos Kitapevi, Yıldız Matbaa, Cilt 1, 4. Basım 2020, syf: 49 – 51

 
 
 

Comments


bottom of page