Elemental

This article is about alchemic elementals. For other uses of the term, see Elemental (disambiguation).
"Sagani" redirects here. For the village in Ukraine known in Romanian as Șagani, see Prymorske, Lyman rural hromada.
Undine Rising From the Waters, by Chauncey Bradley Ives
Rococo set of personification figurines of the Four Elements, 1760s, Chelsea porcelain

An elemental is a mythic supernatural being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent followers, there are four categories of elementals, which are gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders.[1] These correspond to the four Empedoclean elements of antiquity: earth, water, air, and fire, respectively. Terms employed for beings associated with alchemical elements vary by source and gloss.

  1. ^ Carole B. Silver, Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness, p. 38 ISBN 0-19-512199-6