Air

Having achieved some stability and security with earth, the entity's energy shifts to the mental level. With air we see the emergence of abstraction - the verbal representation of experience as a way to reflect upon and communicate that experience.

For the first time in a particular elemental cycle, the psyche distances itself from the immediate aspects of experience. There is a quality of objectivity in its perception, a seeing things they way they are. While each air sign attends to a particular aspect of experienced reality, the intention is to see what is happening without bias. This may require the entity to observe its own perceptual process, adding to the removal of the observer from direct sensory experience.

Air observes a multiplicity of entities and events, and their connections. Air sees patterns - patterns of interaction and relationship. Nothing exists in isolation, but rather as part of a web of interconnections. Thus air is the most social of elements, always seeing itself in relationship to others.

Gemini

As the first air sign, Gemini's focus is immediate experience. It attends to the multiplicity of events occuring in the here-and-now, its mind jumping from one to the next, giving them names, noticing the connections between them. Gemini adds to its store of information by constantly seeking out new experiences, as well as by communicating with everyone it encounters.

Libra

Libra sees itself in relation to others, and wants to behave in ways that are attractive and pleasing. It thus focuses on learning about social relations - "how things are done" - everything from manners to fashion to law. Libra finds its greatest fulfillment in partnership.

Aquarius

With Aquarius, the observer reaches its highest development. Aquarius views society from the edge, seeing the groups of people that comprise the whole, as well as the relationships between the groups. It may turn its attention beyond strictly human concerns to the underlying patterns of the Universe. Detached objectivity is its ideal; "it is what it is" its bottom line.

KEYWORDS:   Air Elements Fire Earth Air Water