Tarot and the Four Elements: Water

Just like Earth, Water is a feminine (yin) element. Its energy is flowing, cleansing and life-giving.

All life on earth originated from water; the human body contains up to 85% water (depending on height, weight, age and gender), which suggests a dominance of its energy on our bodies.

Water is the most receptive of the four elements; it can easily absorb any form of contamination from its surroundings and needs to be purified.

Due to its receptivity and flowing, formless nature, the element of Water is associated with psychic powers, dreams, divination, the subconscious as well as cleansing the spirit.

Although Water is regarded as a passive element, it can be quite forceful in nature: waterfalls, enormous ocean waves, floods can be destructive and overpowering; so can be the feelings and emotions Water is associated with.

Positive: love, nurturing, creativity, imagination, serenity, contentment, compassion, happiness, understanding.

Negative: moodiness, jealousy, hate, sadness, psychic drains, excess, addiction, illusions.

Tarot Cards

Major Arcana: The High Priestess, The Chariot, The Hanged Man, Death, The Moon

Minor Arcana: The Suit of Cups; Queens

In Tarot the element Water represents feelings and emotions; relationships, imagination, fantasy, dreams, astral worlds and the psyche, intuition. 

Cups indicate a love for pleasure, intuitive art, beauty and serenity.

Water Correspondences
Astrological signs	Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio
Atmosphere	Cold and moist
Direction	West
Moon	Waning crescent
Season	Autumn (Summer in Tarot)
Time	Dusk, twilight
Animals	Fish, seals, walrus; dragons (as serpents), dolphins and porpoises, water-dwelling snakes, dragonfly, all water creatures and sea birds
Chakra	Sacral Plexus
Colour	Blue, aquamarine, bluish-silver, blue-green, green, grey, indigo, black, shades of green; purple
Plants	Willow, lettuce, kelp, ferns, lotus, mosses, rushes, seaweed, water lilies, and all water plants
Places	Rivers, lakes, oceans, beaches, swamps, pools, springs, wells
Jungian Function	Feeling
Stones/Gems/Crystals	Moonstone, silver, pearl, Aquamarine, Lapis lazuli, coral, jade, quartz crystal, amethyst, sapphire
Spirit	Undines
Tools	Cups, chalice, cauldron
Tree	Willow

How to get in Touch with the Water Element

Next time you have a bath, feel the comfort of immersing yourself in water and the trancelike condition it invokes; where thoughts and feelings are suspended, peace and serenity taking over. Feel the water moving around your skin washing away the psychic baggage accumulated during the day.

When you go swimming, experience the water carrying you; close your eyes and float; let the water take control.

Take a walk when it rains; summer rain after a hot day can bring refreshment and a sense of purification. Watch the plants being replenished with water.

Children love water; they don’t mind getting wet. They love bath time and playing with containers in the paddling pool in summer. Try it for yourself; perhaps you notice how relaxing that can be.

If you have a garden, why not create a pond? Plant water plants and create spaces for frogs. Enjoy watching tadpoles transforming into frogs. If your pond is big enough, consider getting some fish and create a little eco-system.

Visit the seaside and enjoy the sea with all its riches: shells, crabs, pebbles. Savour the waves and the changing tides. Feel the water and see if you can smell the sea. Be hands on and experience the effects of the sea on you. Do you feel calm, carefree and content or perhaps lonely or sad?

Visit a lake or a river. Sit beside a stream and watch the water move. Perhaps you can see some fish. Can you look down to the ground? Is the water clear or murky? Feel any tension slowly leaving you, when you listen to the gurgle of water over pebbles and rocks.

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