Now that you've begun to formulate your own ideas about the five elements, over the next few lessons I'll share with you several different approaches to the subject, which I hope will inspire you and get your creative juices flowing. We'll begin by looking at the elements and the Great Mother Goddess.

Image of the Goddess Kali on the wall of Kali temple in Puri.

"Some of the oldest images of the primordial Mother Goddess are closely connected with the idea of the elements. The four elemental symbols are found in the four hands of India’s pre-Vedic Great Mother Kali, who invented the sounds of the Sanskrit letters and from these created the primal mantras that brought the universe into being. These sounds were classified as La, earth; Va, water, Ya, air; and Ra, fire. Uniting them all was the Goddess’s own spirit, Ma, meaning both “Mother” and “intelligence.” In the Mahanirvana-tantra, the same Goddess is addressed as Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, as well as Life-in-this-World, Knowledge- itself, and Supreme Divinity. She mingled the four elements to create life from flesh (earth), blood (water), breath (air), and fire (vital heat)."

Read the PDF below to find out more…