Four, Five and Beyond

Other traditions divide differently, the Indian and Buddhist systems count five great elements, adding ether or space, and each scheme carries a distinct logic of how the world's basic constituents relate, not merely a different count. This category presents both the Western elements and the Chinese wu xing, the five phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), each entry labelled with the system it belongs to so the two are not confused.

The atlas gives each element its qualities and its correspondences. The Japanese godai and the Indian tattvas are treated in their own categories, within Eastern Systems and the body section.