Air - Summer
"The Emperor went with the old sage from the Spring into the Summer Solstice. Here they saw what has been known as the great celebration of the coming of the harvest period, when the sun is at the highest peak, and the moon at its lowest, when night is the shortest period within your world and day the longest. The old sage sat up that night and talked to the Emperor about his empire and how he had to nurture and develop the fruit in his people, how he had to take time to see what they had produced, to like it, to commend it. The Solstice was a time of commendations, a time of appreciation for what had been created, a time of appreciating the Winter, the Spring, and the beauty that had come forth. It was also a time of strengthening the bodies for the coming harvest and the preparations for the Equinox, or the Fall.
"They walked into the Summer and they saw the storms, the winds, the rain, and the tornadoes, for the Summer was one of great turmoil within wind. It was a time when crops, or when individuals that had not looked at their budding as a positive Element, lost everything. What they were trying to build was shattered or was eliminated, within the Summer. Within a matter of these months, what had been created for the year either rose to beauty or was destroyed immediately. Depending on the balance of Nature and the insects and the animals, those things that had come forth naturally were either honored or worshipped in their own way, or were, in essence, stepped upon by the beauty of Nature itself. Within the centre of Summer came the stillness; within it came the time when the heat was the hottest; within it came the time when the wind was the warmest, when the dust began to flow. In between the water and the refreshing, and in between the earth and the green, the brownness, the green being parched out of the freshness of Spring and a lack of the colours of Fall.
“As they talked and walked through the forest, the old sage told the Emperor that in his life, it was during the Summer that he began to use the strengths of his people. It was a time of being either soft or strong. It was a time of great energy and production. But to know the Air Element, you have to know the changing individual; you have to know the individual that was exacting within its energy, but at the same time was just as harsh.
"They walked through the forest, by the streams, by the Lake of Li. They saw the changing from the buds and the flowers to the coming of the butterfly and its going. They saw the leaves beginning to change. They saw things beginning to collect and pull together. They saw the animals beginning to pull into the nest. They saw birds beginning to fly. They saw things beginning to close, as they approached the Equinox. It was truly the end of a fruitful time - the end of an energy, of a strength. The Emperor sat with the old sage in the late evening in the later Summer and reflected upon the people and how they, too, harvested their lives, how, too, there were those of the harvest."
The Element of Air is the time of the Summer. When we look at the Summer we see the time of the summer holidays, the time when we are rewarded for the previous six months. For the Fire is the germination; the Water is the moving and growing and the Air is the time of the harvest. You reap in the Summer what you have sown for the rest of the year. It is a time for counting, for storing, for distribution of the harvest of the wealth that has been gained. It is the time for creating order and for storing to create abundance in the future. It is the time of strength and maturity; when the young leave their nest. Its symbol is the oval for it is the extension of the circle; it is the culmination and the distortion of what the time of Water has to offer. It is not as sharp as the time of Fire or as gentle as the time of Water. It is the time of order and logical thinking. It is not the time of creation but one of extension, of best use of what we have. Its colour is yellow, which is the colour that stimulates the intellect. The earth is parched by Air and the summer storm is dramatic and merciless.
The Air in relationship affects all the Elements. From stillness, a gentle blow to a powerful northerly, it touches all the other Elements. It dries and disturbs the Earth; disturbs, feeds or starves Fire; it disturbs Water. Air is unaffected by all but itself. Withhold Air from us for only a few minutes and we are all dead. On some level the Air elements know this and it leads those with a strong ego to see themselves as quite superior. Out of a balance they will have tendency to withhold information as this allows them to keep the superior or dominant position.
Air makes breathing possible. Without air we could not communicate; there could be no exchange of thought. We use Air to communicate our inspirations; our Fire.
The Air Element
The air element rules the nervous temperament and has its seat in the brain, pituitary (air), thyroid gland (air/water) and chest from where it controls the respiratory system as well as the circulation of the vital breath. Its nature is gas-like, light, quick, cold, dry and its energy moves upward. Some of its key images included airiness, weightlessness, volatility, erratic changes and mobility. In alchemy it represents the principle of oxidation and it’s by products. Its negative root emotion is a sense of loss that causes anxiety, worry, depression and nervousness. The cause of this condition is often a long endured grief and sorrow.
Temperament
The Air type is an individual who is intellectual, intelligent, idealistic, creative, rational, innovative and a deeply original thinker. They are known to be great philosophers, classical musicians and humanitarians. Their strengths are portrayed by words such as analytical, refined, thoughtful, intelligent, sophisticated, precise, orderly, illustrative, respectful, careful and distinguished. Their weaknesses are summed up by words like depression, judgement, pensiveness, anxiousness, skepticism, fastidiousness, embittered, disparaging, discriminate, erratic, withdrawn, mistrustful, alienated, suspicious, taciturn, resentful, disconcerted, gloomy, sorrowful, and sullen.
Jung call them the "thinking" types because they are guided by their intellect more than their feelings.
When they are in a healthy state they are intelligent, refined, reserved, sophisticated, eloquent and romantic. As a dry intellectual type they easily fall into excessive theorizing, speculation, and live in a realm of ideas rather than in the practical world. Often they do not understand why everyone does not see things the same way they do and they easily become frustrated. They begin to think themselves more intelligent than the common person and tend toward becoming unconventional, impulsiveness, egocentric, judgmental, and suffer alternating moods. Under stress they become irritable, restless, nervous, sensitive, anxious, impulsive and full of anxiety.
When offended the Air type hide their emotions behind their sophisticated nature suffering reserved displeasure. The event, however, is held in their mind and nervous systems and produces symptoms later. They remember the details of past disagreeable moments and the persons who have offended them. They can hold a grudge for a long time, and have a hard time dealing with conflict, especially when emotions are involved. They like to play intellectual mind games as a way of showing how clever they are. They use sarcasm as a weapon because they believe in their ability to outthink others.
The Air type lives in their head. When their dreams or fantasies are unfulfilled they can become dark, sorrowful, depressed and fixated in their thoughts. They have a deep inner world and if they don’t have an outlet for their internal tensions they can easily become unwell. They generally have difficulties with absorption of nutrients and many of their diseases have deficiency at the cornerstone of the disease process. Continual either physically and especially mental stress drains their vitality to the point where they become indifferent, dull, apathetic and prostrated. All these conditions are < worse from emotional stress, especially grief and sorrow, over thinking, as well as from < poor diet and lack of exercise and open air. If the nervous types do not make a point of deep breathing they suffer.
Strengths
Refined
Thoughtful
Intelligent
Distinguished
Sophisticated
Analytical
Rational
Precise
Orderly
Illustrative
Respectful
Careful
Weakness
Depression
Pensive
Melancholic
Anxious
Skeptical
Fastidious
Hypochondria
Discriminate
Embittered
Erratic
Withdrawn
Mistrustful
Alienated
Suspicious
Taciturn
Resentful
Disconcerted
Gloomy
Sullen
Sorrowful
Sarcastic
Physical Constitution
The physique of the air type is thin, lightly boned and possesses a minimal amount of muscle and flesh. If they are Air/Earth types or especially Earth/Air types they will generally have more muscle. They often have extension in the limbs and also in the fingers and toes. In fact there is an extension in most bones. This patient has a great mind but their physical frames are weak. This is especially obvious in their small nostrils, thin chests, and delicate respiratory organs.
The face of the Air type is oval in shape, and generally smaller than average. It is as if the overworked brain has not allowed the head to grow in size. Their fingers are thin, long, smooth, limp, and relatively bony. Their nails are almond shaped and are often quite long. When they shakes hand they usually present a cold dry palm and a rather weak grip. They are generally not very physical persons, which are reflected by the fact that they make very little physical contact with others. The Air female is not much of a hugger, if they do, it is in a more reserved manner unless they have a romantic interest in the individual they are greeting. This all changes when they have alcohol as may of their inhibitions rush out the window.
The skin of a Air type is sensitive, thin, transparent, white, pale, dry, cracked and they suffer from many skin diseases such eczema and dermatitis.
Predispositions
The Air type is prone to nervous diseases of all kinds. Their symptoms tend toward quick changes, rapid alternation, and they easily suffer form tremors, twitching, cramps, spasms, chorea, numbness, convulsions, and hysterical complaints. There is an overreaction to all things. In the latter stages of illness, they become dizzy, weak, debilitated, depressed, and may suffer from neurasthenia, loco-motor ataxia, or different kinds of paralysis with loss of muscle tissue. Their initial over reaction has now become exhausted.
Air types often suffer from colds, coughs, sore throats, all kinds of respiratory diseases and have a difficulty expectorating discharges. For this reason, they are also called the respiratory type. The air element has difficulty breathing in whereas the fire has difficulty breathing out. The discharges of the nervous temperament can be of various colors and they may be full of small bubbles that have a bluish tint. They feel chilly, shaky, and shiver easily when sick and are usually > better warmth. They crave open air because they suffer from air hunger, but at the same time, they are < worse exposure to cold so they will dress warmly.
They suffer from a dry windy kind of arthritis, rheumatism, fibrosis, and neuritis they are anxious, restless, chilly, and have sharp, shooting, cramps that change places.
The skin of the nervous type is dry, cracked, cold, and sensitive and they suffer from eruptions that ulcerate without much discharge. When they do suffer from suppuration and discharges they are often darkly colored, foul smelling, and full of small bubbles.
I remember treating an air element female who had difficulty expressing her anger. It manifested as small irritable looking bubbles that appeared on the skin. Due to a number of characteristics symptoms I gave her a remedy called Lycopodium and within two days these small bubble had appeared all over her body. Most people would have been worried by what appeared robe a worsening of the symptoms, but for her it was proof that there were many of her old irritations that had come to the surface. She was excited that she could now deal with. In a few days her health had improved dramatically.
The Air types have dry, inactive, cold digestive systems, which easily suffer from borborygmi, diarrhoea and constipation that is accompanied by colic and cramps. They have either an insatiable or depraved appetite, or they will alternate back and forth between the two. These conditions are < worse when drink and drugs are involved.
Their tongue is often dry and cracked and may be dark colored and shake when it is protruded for examination.
In general, the Air types have thin, cold, dry constitutions and suffer from sharp or spasmodic pains that change places and character often, and are < worse cold and dry environments and > better by warmth. Their discharges tend toward suppression or are expelled only with great difficulty. The air element characteristically produces freak symptoms and peculiar contradictions that represent confusion of the nervous system.
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