John Opsopaus November 1993

In many contemporary Wiccan Traditions, as well as the Golden Dawn and other schools of ceremonial magic, the elements are associated with the points of the Pentagram in the following way: Spirit - Air - Water - Earth - Fire
I have reason to doubt it, at least from the perspective of the apparent Babylonian origins of the Pentagram as well as Babylonian, Egyptian and Greek astrology, and, more recently, in Alchemy.
The GD/Wiccan pattern seems to be traceable back to Levi but no further. While I agree with the philosophy, "If it works for you, use it," I think that structures of ideas tend to work better to the extent that they have a high degree of internal coherence -- thus the importance of understanding the "inner logic" of the Pentagram/Element connection. While the GD/Wiccan system has its logic, I suspect it's a comparatively recent invention, and some of the older systems seem more comprehensive, to my mind, anyway. I cannot offer a definite alternative at this time, but I can show some of the pieces I'm trying to fit together.