The Element of Water

The astrological cycle of elements concludes with the element of water. This is, perhaps, the most complex and yet misunderstood of the elements. A mythological deity that comes to mind when we discuss the element of water is the Greek god Poseidon, also known to the Romans as Neptune (which is also a planet associated with this element). Poseidon was worshipped as a protector of all who ventured out to sea. When he was offended, tidal waves would consume coastal cities and ships would be mysteriously lost on their voyages. As water represents the element of emotion, the mythology would accurately describe those of the water element: protective and nurturing when appreciated, but destructively emotional to the point of hysteria when offended or neglected.

The water triad includes the signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The planets corresponding to this element include the Moon, Mars (through its association with Scorpio) as well as Pluto, and Jupiter (the classical ruler of Pisces) as well as Neptune. When this element arrives on the astrological scene, they immediately urge us to bring depth and emotion to everything the preceeding three elements have established. "What good is identity and inspiration without depth and emotion?" water would ask fire. "What good is money, job success, and real estate without strong familial ties and an emotional base?" water quips to earth. "And why must all emotions be analyzed and intellectualized without being truly felt?" water would ponder to air.

This element is concerned primarily with feelings - those of the individual, and those of others. Although air rules groups, social occasions, and friendships, water lives for deep, meaningful connections. No human contact is taken lightly where water decides to flow; water wants to experience any and all emotion to its fullest. Those of this element are not afraid of the deep and sometimes messy emotions that the other elements would tend to shun. Anger, pain, sadness, joy, love, nostalgia - water craves experience with them all.

Think of a babbling brook. Up the stream, a gentle and beautiful waterfall pours into the stream, and the water trickles ever so gently and peacefully toward its final destination. As it picks up momentum, it makes its way to the sea, where it becomes more assertive in its final voyage toward a larger body of water. People often buy CDs and cassettes with sounds of brooks, waterfalls, or rain as a way of calming the mind and soothing the soul. We depend on this element for cleansing us before we rush off to work, and for maintaining our food sources and overall health. There is something calming and healing inherent in all the water signs. Just watch out for when those emotions spill out of control: they can easily turn into tidal waves ready to drown all within their path.

Water is associated with sensitivity and perception. You can always tell when you are in the presence of a water sign - their mooods and emotions tend to ebb and flow toward all those around with a persistence that resembles that of a river making its way toward the ocean. However, they tend to pick up all the nuances of human emotion of everyone around them as well. Water is compassionate and sympathetic. Air also strives for fairness and sympathy, but it is on a mental and social level. Water is not afraid of tears, temper tantrums, and all of the other many human emotions. It feels them down to its very core, and relates on a much more intuitive, gut level than any of the other elements.

This is the deepest of elements, and also the most mysterious. Legends of the sea and what lurks within its waters have characterized many human myths and heroic tales. Like those tales, water is deep and enigmatic - it is capable of confusing less watery souls by reflecting what it perceives in its immediate environment. Like the ebb and flow of the tidal waters, water sign people can be moody. Although others might be wary of their ever-changing moods, water signs find solace and comfort in feeling out their every emotion, whether dark or light. They have a need to feel, whatever the emotion. For this reason, water signs often need some alone time so that they can stop reflecting the immediate world and start reflecting their own moods and emotions.

Water is the element associated with dreams, the unconscious, birth and death. It is not afraid to go where the other elements feel wary. It is the element that feels the most comfortable perceiving the invisible: emotions, body language, even the existence of spirits or life after death. Water does not need rational explanations or realistic confirmation like air or earth. It is perfectly content to just feel and imagine, without sensory stimulation or theoretical hypothesis. Although it may feel the pull of the unexplained more than any other element, water urges us that "not all is as meets the eye." It encourages us to dig down into our deepest feelings and desires and truly feel without any conscious explanations.