air

Air is the medium of relationship. Air is the medium of sound-waves and thus of language and communication. In our world, air is the universal, connecting link. This ancient observation has been made anew by contemporary poet and song-writer Yoko Ono in this short piece:

“AIR TALK

it’s sad to think the air is the only thing we share.
No matter how close we get to each other, there is alwavs air between us.

It’s also nice that we share the air. No matter how far apart we are, the air links us.”

In symbolic systems, such as astrology, the element air symbolizes our social and intellectual functions: our relationships, ideas, communication, our ability to make connections. Air is also thought to be the most mobile of the elements as well - water notwithstanding. It is possible to channel and confine water, while air has been until only recently impossible to contain. The movements of air their origins and dynamics, are more mysterious than those of water and while the oceans seem deep, vast and mysterious, they cover only a percentage of the world’s surface while the air envelopes the whole globe.

Traditionally, connections have been made between the element air and intelligence, wisdom, ideas, motion and the power to move, relatedness - especially social relatedness, and the deeper structural strata of reality. Stephen Arroyo writes that,

“The air realm is the world of archetypal ideas behind the veil of the physical world, the cosmic energy actualized into specific patterns of thought. It is associated with the energy which shapes the patterns of things to come.”