The four elements of western culture are: EARTH,
AIR, FIRE, and WATER.
These four elements were believed to be essential to life.
Taoism has five elements, each one superior to the next in turn: wood, earth,
water, fire, and metal. Metal conquers wood, wood conquers earth, et cetera.
Tables provided from DeVries, 162:
| element | temperament | mystic character | Shakespeare | Blake | Yeats | general |
| air | blood, red | dreamer, lover of freedom, profound | thought | shame and fear | logical thought | liberty and movement |
| fire | gall, yellow | emotional, irresistable, mercurial, unpredictable | desire | blindness | soul | desire and love |
| water | water, white | compassionate, healer, kindly understanding | tears of love | doubt, jealousy | blood and sex, passion | softness and repose |
| earth | gall, black | lover of babies, possessive | dual substance of the flesh | melancholy | instinct | riches |
| element | myth | Hebrew | animal | later animal | season | windrose | form |
| air | giant | eagle, rainbow | monkey | eagle | spring | South | erect ellipse |
| fire | salamander | man, angel, meteor | lion | salamander | summer, early fall | East | triangle, pyramid |
| water | mermaid | fish, dragon, pearl | lamb | swam, dolphin | winter | West | circle, sphere |
| earth | dwarf, gnome | bull, lion, ruby | pig | lion, elephant | late fall | North | cube, square |