Element

The elements are, in a magical sense, the fundamental building blocks of material existence. The elements are central to a number of magical practices, such as alchemy. They are represented and embodied by elementals and other similar spirits in the supernatural world.

The actual number of elements varies by source:


 * The four classical elements in Greek cosmology: air, earth, fire and water
 * The five elements in Chinese (Taoist) alchemy: earth, fire, metal, water and wood
 * The five elements from the Book of Nine Rings: earth, water, fire, wind and void
 * The five elements in Exalted, which draws from a mix of Eastern and Western inspirations: air, earth, fire, water and wood
 * The five elements represented by humours in Promethean: The Created: air, earth, fire, water and ectoplasm

Other uses of the elements include:


 * Elemental spirits in the Classic World of Darkness, which include incarnations of the classical elements but also elementals like lightning and glass
 * Various Paths of blood magic in Vampire: The Masquerade, most notably Koldunic Sorcery but also including several paths of Thaumaturgy
 * The Shintai of the Kuei-jin (and, in the last Age, the Godbodies of the Wan Kuei) in Kindred of the East
 * The elemental Inanimae in Changeling: The Dreaming, or the the elementally-attuned Kwannon-jin of the hsien in Land of Eight Million Dreams
 * The Elemental kith and the Contracts of Elements in Changeling: The Lost

The five elements are particularly relevant in Exalted, where their uses include:


 * The Five Elemental Dragons, and their element-aspected Dragon-Blooded descendants
 * The five magical materials, each of which is attuned to a different element and a different type of Exalt
 * The five elemental poles, which exist at the four corners and the center of Creation
 * Elementals, the lesser gods who generally dwell in Creation rather than Yu-Shan
 * The elemental paths of the Dragon Kings