The Four Polarities or Basic Qualities

ELEMENTS
PLANETS
HUMOR
TEMPERAMENT

QUALITY Hot Cold Moist/Wet Dry

ROOT "Heat" "Freeze" "Sweet" "Sour"

WEIGHT Subtle Gross Subtle Gross

POLARITY Active Active Passive Passive

DYNAMIC Projects Receives Receives Projects

ELEMENTAL Fire; Water; Air; Earth;

COMBINATIONS Air Earth Water Fire

PLANETARY Sol/Mars; Moon; Venus/Jupiter; Saturn;

COMBINATIONS Jupiter/Venus Saturn Moon Mars/Sol

FOUR HUMOR Ylow Bile; Phlegm; Blood; Blk Bile;

COMBINATIONS Blood Blk Bile Phlegm Ylow Bile

FOUR TEMPER Choleric; Phlegmatic; Sanguine; Melancholic;

COMBINATIONS Sanguine Melancholic Phlegmatic Choleric

Subtle = strong, bright, physical, active, electric, and hot.

Gross = calm, inward, spiritual, passive, magnetic, and cold.

Prima Materia ("Prime Matter") = Aether

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SOURCE: http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_basic_qualities.html

POLARITIES OF FOUR BASIC QUALITIES

"...all cycles, manifestation and phenomena in the natural world as resulting
from the dynamic interplay of opposite yet complementary forces and qualities.
Although many such qualities may be observed interacting in Nature,
Aristotle concluded that four of them, or two pairs of opposites,
were more central and important than all the others: Hot, Cold, Dry and Wet.
These he called the Four Basic Qualities."

"The Hot / Cold polarity is called active or primary because it drives

all change and manifestation and causes or produces the other two qualities.
The Dry / Wet polarity is called passive or secondary because they
are usually caused by the active, primary qualities."

"Both Hot and Dry are qualities that the Chinese would call Yang.
They are closely associated with each other because
heat evaporates moisture, producing dryness.
Both Cold and Wet are qualities that the Chinese would call Yin.
They are closely associated with each other because
cold condenses moisture, producing wetness."

UNDERSTANDING FOUR BASIC QUALITIES

"The primary, active polarity of Hot / Cold is the easiest to understand, and
refers to the relative level of energy or activity present in a system/entity.
Hot denotes a high level of energy or activity.
Hot activates, excites, expands, disperses, moves and circulates.
Cold denotes a low level of energy or activity.
Cold slows down, sedates, contracts, congeals and obstructs.
..Dry / Wet refers to the relative level of moisture present in a system/entity,
with Dry denoting a low level or absence of moisture
and Wet a high level or abundance of moisture.
When flour is dry, it is a powder that easily disperses.
Add water to it, and it sticks together as dough. Therefore:
Dry also means separate, objective, discrete.
Wet also means coherent, subjective, indiscrete.
When a rawhide drumhead is Wet, it gets soft,
malleable, flexible and lax in tone.
When that drumhead is Dry, it gets hard,
stiff, rigid, tight in tone, and withers, or shrinks."

TEMPERAMENT AND FOUR BASIC QUALITIES

"Temperament is defined as the prevailing balance or makeup of qualities
and attributes within a substance, system or entity...conditions
of temperament [are measured] primarily in terms of the Four Basic Qualities.
..Eight possible conditions of temperament [are defined],
four of them simple and four compound. In addition, there is a ninth,
called balanced or equable temperament."

"The four simple conditions of temperament each involve

only one of the Four Basic Qualities, as follows:
Hot - Hotter than normal, but neither Wetter nor Dryer.
Cold - Colder than normal, but neither Wetter nor Dryer.
Dry - Dryer than normal, but neither Hotter nor Colder.
Wet - Wetter than normal, but neither Hotter nor Colder."

"The four compound conditions of temperament each involve

two of the Four Basic Qualities, as follows:
Hot and Dry - Both Hotter and Dryer than normal.
Hot and Wet - Both Hotter and Wetter than normal.
Cold and Dry - Both Colder and Dryer than normal.
Cold and Wet - Both Colder and Wetter than normal."

"Conditions of both Hot and Cold can't exist simultaneously,

since these two qualities are polar opposites.
For the same reason, neither can conditions of Dry and Wet coexist.
Each of the four compound temperaments has associations with a certain element,
humor and temperament, or constitutional type."

WORKING WITH FOUR BASIC QUALITIES

"Because the Four Basic Qualities aren't static,
but rather always changing, we can work with them.
Here are a few simple, basic rules for working with the Four Basic Qualities:
1) 'LIKE INCREASES LIKE.'
If we wish to increase a certain quality in the organism,
we use medicines and treatments that have that quality.

2) 'OPPOSITES BALANCE.'
If we wish to bring an excessive or aggravated quality back into balance, we
use medicines and treatments that have its opposite yet complementary quality.

3) 'HEAT PRODUCES DRYNESS.'

Moderate amounts of heat, applied over a short period of time will only
increase heat and dissipate excessive cold.
Intense levels of heat applied over a long period of time will also
evaporate moisture, producing dryness.

4) 'COLD CONDENSES MOISTURE.'

Moderate amounts of cold applied over a short period of time will only
cool down the body and disperse excessive heat.
Intense cold applied over a long period of time will also
condense moisture, producing wetness."

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Source:http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_elements.html

LIGHT AND HEAVY ELEMENTS - HOT [SUBTLE] vs COLD [GROSS]

"Two of the elements, Fire and Air, are light, subtle and energetic.
Both of these elements have Hot as their primary quality.
Two of the elements, Water and Earth, are heavy, dense and substantial,
or gross. Both of these elements have Cold as their primary quality."

FLUIDIC AND DISCRETE ELEMENTS - MOIST [CENTRIPETAL] vs DRY [CENTRIFRUGAL]

"The two elements having Wet as their secondary quality, Air and Water,
are both fluidic in their behavior, taking the shape of their container and
rushing in to fill every space or vacuum. Air is hot, light and flows upwards,
whereas Water is cold, heavy and flows or sinks downwards.
The two elements having Dry as their secondary quality, Fire and Earth,
both have a tendency to separate things and make them discrete.
Fire, being Hot, does this in an active, dynamic way, by refining, distilling
and transforming. Earth, being Cold, does this in a passive, receptive way,
by solidifying, condensing and coagulating."

EXTREME AND MODERATE ELEMENTS

"Fire and Water are the extreme elements...
Fire is Hot and Dry, whereas Water is Cold and Wet.
Because of their extreme qualities,
both elements can destroy or overwhelm easily.
Fire and Water both embody the Cardinal quality of being able
to drive or initiate manifestation and change.
In the human body, Fire and Water drive all the metabolic processes."

"Air and Earth are the moderate or mixed elements.

Air, being Hot and Wet, is fluidic, subtle and Mutable in nature.
Earth, being Cold and Dry, is heavy, solid and Fixed in nature."

QUALITIES AND ACTIONS OF THE ELEMENTS

"Fire: Hot and Dry. The most active, energetic and volatile element,
and the greatest emitter of energy. Light, rising and penetrating.
Distilling, refining, extracting, digesting, metabolizing, transforming."

"Air: Hot and Wet. The subtlest, most refined element.

Flowing and fluidic, filling every vacuum.
Exchange, movement and contact. Ascending, lightening, rarefying."

"Water: Cold and Wet. The most passive, receptive element,

and the greatest receiver and absorber of energy. Flowing and fluidic.
Cools, moistens, lubricates, dissolves, cleanses, purifies, sinks downwards."

"Earth: Cold and Dry. The heaviest, densest, most solid element. Draws,
retains, solidifies, coagulates, precipitates, sustains, supports, endures."

ETHER, THE FIFTH ELEMENT

"A fifth element, which is [called] Space, or Ether.
It is the lightest, subtlest and most refined of all the elements.
Plato called it Prima Materia, or the primal source,
womb or matrix from which all matter arises and manifests.
Ether could be called matter on the verge of manifestation,
or the space that allows matter to exist.
Like Earth, Ether is also Cold and Dry in its basic qualities.
But contrary to Earth, Ether is extremely light, subtle and mobile."

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"The difference between the gross body and the subtle body
is the perishability. Gross body perishes at the end of every birth,
whereas the subtle body does not perish and accompanies the casual body
and soul till emancipation."