Mythos

Greek Epic Fragment 1, Trans Martin L. West

From Psuedo-Eratosthenes, Catasterisms

"Leo: this is one of the conspicuous constellations. It is held that this zodiacal animal was honored by Zeus* because of its being the first among the beasts. But some say that this was the first of Heracles' Labors to be commemorated; for this was the only creature that in his eagerness for fame he did not k-ll with weapons but wrestled with and throttled. Pisander of Rhoded tells about it. That is why he got its skin, because he had accomplished a famous deed."

These qualities were first proposed by Aristotle, in which he believed that the makeup of the material world was based on what he called “prime” (also known as “first matter”). On its own, it has no physical existence, however it is the one unchangeable reality in our ever-changing material world. To give this matter a physical identity and characteristics, various stages of form are necessary. The first stage form are the elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water). These elements are also related to the 4 below qualities, in which each element gets two qualities each. One of these qualities predominates the other when applied to the elements.

Hot

Active, destructive, and controlling.

It is the essence or organising principle.

Represented by Air and Fire.

Cold

Passive, nurturing, and receptive.

It is the structure/substance that forms and creates.

Represented by Earth and Water.

Wet

Volatile and changeable, and therefore never the same.

It flows, changes, and transforms constantly.

Represented by Air and Water.

Dry

Fixed and stable, and therefore has little change.

Lacks intense motion, is constant and dependable.

Represented by Earth and Fire

How these qualities affect the elements:

Fire: hot and dry with heat predominating.

Air: hot and moist with moisture predominating.

Water: moist and cold with cold predominating.

Earth: cold and dry with dryness predominating.

Why this is important to alchemy:

This is all important as Aristotle believed that the potential of change is entirely possible, meaning that any element can become another element by the predominating quality they possess in common. Fire can become air as they share heat, air can become water as they share moisture, water can become earth as they are both cold, and earth can become fire as they are both dry.

The next stage in Aristotle’s theory comes from the idea that all physical manifestations in the world are composed of differing amounts of each element. If we can change an element from one to another element, then theoretically by changing the proportions of each element within an object we can change the object into another object. This fuels the drive of alchemists to try to change lead into gold, as they hope that by changing the amounts of each element that is shared by these metals, they can be transformed.

I would also like to thank @sunflower-queen-13 for teaching me the basics of this last year - please go check her out 💜