Editing Elemental (section)

=== Other authors and beliefs ===
In his influential [[Three Books of Occult Philosophy|''De Occulta Philosophia'']], published in 1531–33,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Van Der Poel|first1=Marc|title=Cornelius Agrippa: The Humanist Theologian and His Declamations|date=1997|publisher=Brill|page=44}}</ref> several decades before the publication of Paracelsus' ''Philosophia Magna'', [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa]] also wrote of four classes of spirits corresponding to the four elements. However, he did not give special names for the classes: "In like manner they distribute these into more orders, so as some are fiery, some watery, some aerial, some terrestrial." Agrippa did however give an extensive list of various mythological beings of this type, although without clarifying which belongs to which elemental class.<ref>[http://www.esotericarchives.com/agrippa/agrippa3.htm#chap16 ''De Occulta Philosophia'' Book 3, Ch. 16, English translation of 1651]</ref> Like Paracelsus, he did not use the term "elemental spirit" ''per se''.

A 1670 French satire of occult philosophy,'' [[Comte de Gabalis]]'', was prominent in popularizing Paracelsus' theory of elementals.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Veenstra|first1=Jan R.|editor1-last=Olsen|editor1-first=Karin E.|editor2-last=Veenstra|editor2-first=Jan R.|title=Airy Nothings: Imagining the Otherworld of Faerie from the Middle Ages to the Age of Reason: Essays in Honour of Alasdair A. MacDonald|date=2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-25823-5|pages=213–240|chapter=Paracelsian Spirits in Pope's Rape of the Lock}}</ref> It particularly focused on the idea of elemental marriage discussed by Paracelsus. In the book, the titular "Count of [[Kabbalah]]" explains that members of his order (to which Paracelsus is said to belong) refrain from marriage to human beings in order to retain their freedom to bestow souls upon elementals. ''Comte de Gabalis'' used the terms ''sylphide''  and ''gnomide'' to refer to female sylphs and gnomes (often "sylphid" and "gnomid" in English translations). Male nymphs (the term used instead of the Paracelsian "undine") are said to be rare, while female salamanders are rarely seen.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://sacred-texts.com/eso/cdg/index.htm |title=Comte de Gabalis |publisher=The Brothers, Old Bourne Press |location=London |first=N.-P.-H. |last=de Montfaucon de Villars |date=1913 |orig-year=1670 |oclc=6624965}}</ref>

The [[Rosicrucians]] claimed to be able to see such elemental spirits. To be admitted to their society, it was previously necessary for the eyes to be purged with the [[Panacea (medicine)|Panacea]] or "Universal Medicine," a legendary alchemical substance with miraculous curative powers. As well, glass globes would be prepared with one of the four elements and for one month exposed to beams of sunlight. With these steps the initiated would see innumerable beings immediately. These beings, known as elementals, were said to be longer lived than man but ceased to exist upon death. However, if the elemental were to wed a mortal, they would become immortal. This exception seemed to work in reverse when it came to immortals, though, for if an elemental were to wed an immortal being, the immortal would gain the mortality of the elemental. One of the conditions of joining the Rosicrucians however, was a vow of chastity in hopes of marrying an elemental.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog|title=Lives of the Necromancers|author=William Godwin|year=1876|page=[https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog/page/n46 23]|publisher=London, F. J. Mason}}</ref>

====Comparison with Buddhism====
The [[Four Heavenly Kings]] rule over the eastern, southern, western and northern cardinal directions which are inhabited by [[gandharvas]], [[kumbhanda|kumbhandas]], [[nāgas]], and [[yakshas]], respectively. These spiritual beings are reminiscent of the elementals found in the Paracelsian tradition. Different Buddhist traditions in Asia, including those of [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibet]] and [[Chinese Buddhism|China]] associate the cardinal directions with [[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|elements]] as well.<ref>* {{cite web | title=Onmark Productions: SHITENNŌ = Four Heavenly Kings |url=https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shitenno.shtml |access-date=13 January 2025}}</ref>

====Comparison with Jainism====
In [[Jainism]], there is a superficially similar concept within its general [[Jain terms and concepts#Jīvas (souls)|cosmology]], the ''[[Ekendriya|ekendriya jiva]]'', "one-sensed beings" with bodies (''kaya'') that are composed of a single element, albeit with a 5-element system (earth, water, air, fire, and plant), but these beings are actual physical objects and phenomena such as rocks, rain, fires and so on which are endowed with souls (''jiva'').<ref>[http://www.iep.utm.edu/jain/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ] Plants, various one-celled animals, and 'elemental' beings (beings made of one of the four elements—earth, air, fire, or water) have only one sense, the sense of touch. Worms and many insects have the senses of touch and taste.  -</ref> In the Paracelsian concept, elementals are conceived more as supernatural humanoid beings which are much like human beings except for lacking souls. This is quite the opposite from the Jain conception which rather than positing soulless elementals is positing that physical objects have some type of soul and that what are commonly considered inanimate objects have this particular type of soul.