I find it interesting, and significant, that I seem to have
written the least about this most mysterious of elements, Water, than I have
about the other elements. Looking at my
writings, I realise that the number of words I have dedicated to the different
elements has varied. Perhaps it is
understandable that Fire has occupied my thoughts the most, and that may not
just be because it is my own element, but additionally, and perhaps more
importantly, because it shelters what are in effect twin elements, Inner and
Outer Fire, each with its own circle of influence and its own paired
officials. Though they both quite
obviously have the same sensory signatures, they are distinct enough to have
characters quite their own, to the extent that I was delighted one day to see
JR Worsley nod his head slightly when I dared to say, “Really I think there are
six elements, not five.”
If I count up the numbers of words I have written about each
element, there appear to be more about the two yang officials, Wood and Fire, a
little fewer about Earth and increasingly less about Metal, before finally
dwindling down to the least number for Water.
I have concluded that this is probably because it is much easier to
write about Wood and Fire, because their yang nature makes them very visible,
whereas the more yin characters of first Earth, then Metal, and finally the
almost ephemeral of all, Water, are less easy to grasp in words because of
their more hidden, yin nature. Or at
least I find them so.
When I have given talks about the elements, inevitably I
always start with Wood, since its upfront character appears to be the simplest
for me to describe and it is therefore
the easiest element for my audience to identify with. I once tried to change my routine and started
with Water, but I felt very uncomfortable doing so, particularly as I could
feel that I was losing my audience as I stumbled through my description of
Water’s qualities. In a similar vein it
is much easier to talk about the glories of spring with all nature’s abundance
on show than the unremittingly passive picture of the dark days of winter,
Water’s season, with a landscape lying apparently fallow for months, often
buried beneath snow.
Water is the element that I always feel quite wary of. And this is such an appropriate word to use
when describing anything to do with this element, particularly if you are, like
me, of the Fire element. Because Fire is
always slightly apprehensive whenever it comes into contact with Water, just as
Water is equally just a little nervous when it comes into contact with
Fire. I believe, however, that Water has
this effect upon people of all elements, but perhaps to different degrees.
It is always good to think of the way these elements
manifest themselves in the natural world, for their appearance and their
actions in nature are why the elements have originally been given the names
that they have. There is something which
makes us think of the earth beneath our feet when we think of an Earth person,
just as there is something very specific to our thinking about metal objects or
things made of precious materials, such as gold or silver, when we think of a
Metal person. It is therefore not by
coincidence that the ancient Chinese named the five elements as they did.
Everyone should at some level be wary of Water, because in
its often silent and rather hidden way it is quite remorseless in ensuring that
it finds its way to whatever goal it has set itself. If you think of the force of water in the
natural world, you can see that it has the ability to transform itself in
seconds from being something as apparently harmless and peaceful as the smooth
surface of a small pond into becoming the awesome, overpowering force of a
torrent drowning whole villages and towns in its path. It represents our determination to achieve
whatever we have set out to achieve, come what may, and at the deepest, most
primitive level, is our survival instinct.
This is why so many people who have reached the top of their profession
often owe allegiance to this element.
I call it the hidden element, being the most deeply yin of
all the elements, because it is not as obviously aggressive as Wood, a yang
element, but the power it can exert can be all the greater because it can be so
unexpected and catch us unawares. I
always feel that Water people can creep upon on us without our being conscious
of their presence, whilst the more yang movements of the Wood element announce
themselves much more openly
People often underestimate Water’s power and
single-mindedness because these are often disguised by its apparently gentle,
pliable nature. So what is there about
water as we observe it in nature which will help us understand the nature of
this element better? At its deepest
level, I think it has much to do with one of its characteristics, which no
other element shares, and that is its ability to change its shape at will
whenever it feels the need to do so. At
a stroke, often associated simply with changes in environmental temperature, it
can transform itself, becoming in turn steam or ice, and in so doing turning
the soft flow of water into ice-bound glaciers, a boiling kettle or the steam
of hot geysers. I have always seen
Water’s ability to change its shape and consistency as offering it different
escape routes enabling it to avoid capture, the thing that Water most fears,
for to become captive would be to hold it back from performing its main task,
which is to be on the move, with the aim of drawing things together into a
whole, and thus to create the image of wholeness, which is that of the unbroken
circle of the Dao,
As a footnote to these thoughts about Water, I was sent some
very illuminating insights into this element all the way from India by a
friend of mine whose guardian element is Water.
“I read your recent blog, which was interesting. These
short, simple observations of each element in a particular situation are very
easy to remember and think about. It's also certainly a fact that on the
street, I would look at people but immediately look away! I think it is because
I don't want them to know that I am looking at them unless they want to
initiate contact. If they smile, for example, I would spontaneously smile back
and maintain contact for a short while before looking around. It's as if I feel
I am transparent and everyone is always able to see through me (literally I
mean) and that everyone is trying to read my mind and judge me. And I need to
distract most people (except those I am very comfortable with) from something I
may have been focusing on by looking here and there, away from what originally
caught my attention. I think this is what partly causes the jerkiness that is
experienced by others in Water. It's also as if I need to constantly check the
environment to condition my own response or state of being to it, perhaps a bit
like water which changes its state so often. This takes up a lot of physical
and mental energy unconsciously in its own way (as Fire does in its attempt to
reach out and every other element does in their individual ways).”