In Walter Scott’s Hermetica, (Vol. 3), his notes and commentary, he notes the 4 elements of man and the Kosmos.
Hermes is speaking "a divino sermoni" that is his speech is divine qeioj in the sense that the speaker is possessed or inspired by God; it is the voice of God that speaks through the human teacher. In this sense Hermes is a Prophet. He is enqeoj (entheos, that is, he is literally "in-God") It is assumed that the gnosis of God involves the actual presence of God in the soul. The erwj (eros)of God means man’s yearning for union with God. This is implanted in man by God. It is indwelling and operative in the human soul. This was considered by the Hermeticists as a manifestation of the deity, a dunamij (dunamis, that is a power, especially when spoken of Jesus, at Romans 1:4, "in power," or "with power," en dunamei the genative tou dunatou – The Son of God, the powerful One.)
My point in all this is Hermes teaching in the Latin Asclepius of the 4 elements. In his prophetic mode, Hermes says De caelo cuncta […] in terram et in aquam, et in aera ignis. Here he is saying that the life of all organisms on earth results from movements and interactions of the four corporeal elements. (Scott, p. 11).
Omnis humans immortalis est anima: sed non uniformiter cunctae…; non enim [.] omnis unius qualitatis est anima – The souls of men are immortal. They differe in this respect from the souls of the lower animals, which are mortal. The merely animal life or soul (the anima) is spoken of as such a thing distinct from the 4 corporeal elements; but it is included, together with them, under the sway of fusij (phusis, meaning to bring forth, the natural birth or condition, the essence or the essential constitution and properties). It is conveyed into or generated in the individual organism by the entrance of the two finer elements, fire and air, into a body composed of the two grosser elements, earth and water. To the mortal part of man is added the nouj, which is imperishable. The "nous" is the mind, the organ of mental perception, consciousness so to speak. It is intelligent understanding. The seat of emotions and affections, mode of thinking and feeling, disposition, moral inclination, equivalent to the heart. The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) has nouj when speaking of mind in Isaiah 10:7. It is what Penelope who devised her sratagem and attributed it to Some god who breathed into (enepneuse , "enepneuse) my frenej ("phrenes," considered the midriff of the body by the Greeks) that I should set up a great loom and weave a robe. Mind, thoughts, knowledge are breath which can also be breathed out. This is the explanation of the song to a flute-player the gods gave not intelligence (nouj!) while he blows, his intelligence also flies out. (Onians, Origins of European Thought, p. 56). The gods breath into man his intelligence, moods, and intellectual capabilities according to the Greek thinking. i.e., the nouj. (Cf. Genesis 2:7 where God breathed [Myyx tm#n wyp)b xpyw] the breath of life into the man and he became a living soul!) Note the German, … und er blies ihm ein den lebendigen Odem in seine Nase. Und also ward der Menschen eine lebendige Seele. The word Seele, is soul, which includes the breath of God. Man has the divine breathed right into him.
Hermes taught that De caelo cuncta […] in terram et in aquam et in aera ignis – the life of all organisms on the earth results from movements and interactions of the four corporeal elements. (Scott, p. 11). These earthly movments result from the movement of the heavenly bodies! (Scott, p. 11) The idea is that the fire, the vivifying element, moves into the air and vivifies it. These in turn enter into the two grosser elements, earth and water. The Stoic words anoferej (anopheres) and katoferhj (katopherhs) are the two light elements, fire and air, and the two heavy elements earth and water respectively. Yet fire and air alone are vivifica. We are told that "spiritus (pneuma ‘pneuma’) permixtus cunctis, cuncta vivificat." Hence the Greek term pneuma ‘pneuma’ must be identical with fire and air. Perhaps the air that the fire has entered. The Stoics in fact, seemed to have believed the life element, that of movement, in the body was a portion of pneuma the spirit which consisted of fire in part. (Scott, p. 12). In fact, as Onians demonstrated, the fertility principle was active in fire. (Onians, p. 156, note 2). In the ancient Irish Tain Bo Cualnge, there are stirking descriptions of the hero warrior’s fury, where the hair of his head all stood on end and as it were, flames. The heroes body was animated by a different spirit, which caused him to have sparks of glowing red fire blazing and flashing in hazes and mists over his head. His hair bristled all over his head like branches of a red-thorn… The champion’s light stood out of his forehead so that it was as long and as thick as a whetstone… (Onians, pp. 157f). Compare the Tarot Cards labeled "Judgment," and "The Lovers" for the angel’s hair in the same fashion.
Back to the 4 elements. In the Stoic system, the mia yuxh (mia psyche) is the living fire which pervades the universe, and is identified with God. The statement Mundus autem praepuratus est a deo receptaculum omniformium specierum indicates that God made all manner of eidoj, idea that is the forms or even the eternal and unchanging types and patterns (paradeigmata paradeigmata) the substantial existing and separate paradigms of things, the substrate of forms, first clothed with the qualities of the 4 elements. And then the elements (which are in their turn u[lh [hule – the basic material or matter of which all things are formed] relatively to the eidh imposed upon them) are worked up into living organisms. (Scott, p. 22).
The whole point of these backgrounds and notes are in relation to what we see on two of the Major Arcana Tarot cards. The World, and the Wheel of Fortune, both indicating this number 4 correlating with the 4 elements, of course. The number 4 is found worldwide anciently, which notes I will add as I come across them. For now it is interesting to see the "World" card consists of the four elements (pictured as heads in each of the four corners of the card). There is a message in that. There is enormous background in these cards which broader and deepen our understanding. It is quite similar to Wolfram’s idea in his new science book A New Kind of Science, wherein he notes that from simple propositions, simple laws and rules, one can get an astonishing amount of information, some of which is never repeated, and some of which repeats for infinity. The variety is most unusual and could not possibly have been foreseen. The same thing with the Tarot Cards. Here is a simple thing in origin, a mere deck of cards. Yet the symbols, their backgrounds in ancient cultures, their overlapping of symbolism, their combinations of symbols, are literally against our intuition. It goes on and on, forever onward, which is not what we would suppose. But they do. The journey to learning and knowledge is, indeed, a fantastic one.
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Note from Joe Steve Swick:
Spirit. Strong Heb. 7307. Gematria Number. 214, red. 7. Wind, breath, mind, spirit; vanity; vigor, courage, temper, anger; prophetic spirit; ecstatic prophetic state; inspiration; power, esp. the power of life; disembodied being; angel; Shekinah.
Level of soul related to spirit, movement, wind. This is in fact the same word as wind, since God’s spirit can only be detected when in motion, and we sense it in ourselves like the wind (see John 3:8-10). The word is also closely related to xrw) oreach, meaning a visitor or a guest, as well as the word xr) orach, meaning a path. The idea that the spirit may be largely undetected until its (generally downward) movement, which we welcome as a visitor or guest, is consistent with the teaching of Joseph Smith, that "a man may receive the Holy Spirit, and it may DESCEND upon him and NOT TARRY with him" (D&C 130:23). So, we read in Isaiah: "a spirit" [ruach] is poured upon us from on high" (Is. 32:15). As it is poured out upon us from above it is also called "the Holy Spirit" or ruach ha-Kodesh (at Gm. 0300).
Kerry adds: This is also reflected at Proverbs 1:23, "I will pour out my spirit unto you..." We read elsewhere where the spirit comes upon a person as well. Eccl 12:7 says at death the spirit will return unto God who GAVE it. etc.
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