Explanation of the Elemental Figure by Bl. Raymond Lull

bullet1 Foreword

A Book Explaining the Elemental Figure of the Demonstrative Art
By Blessed Raymond Lull, Doctor Illuminatus
In GOD's name, here begins the Book on the Elemental Figure
The elements are the four principles of all the natural things which naturally constitute the entire Body within the lunar sphere, and in order to learn about them and about their operations in corporeal or physical things, so that through this knowledge we can answer questions by responding to them either literally or metaphorically, the four elements are depicted in this Figure of the Demonstrative Art together with the active and passive degrees of each element.
Although enough has been said in Liber Chaos about the elements, their essences and their existence, and about their degrees, operations and predicates, nonetheless, we want to deal with the topics contained in this present Book in order to clarify this Figure's structure more explicitly. To show more clearly the topics we now intend to raise, we divide this Book into seven Parts, which deal with the elements and things pertinent to them.
  • The first part is about the Degrees of the Elements.
  • The second is about the Situation of the Elements.
  • The third is about the Simplicity and Composition of the Elements.
  • The fourth is about the Action and Passion of the Elements.
  • The fifth is about the Mixture and Digestion of the Elements.
  • The sixth is about the Locus and Motion of the Elements.
  • The seventh is about the Generation and Corruption of the Elements.
Note that this Elemental Figure is divided into four Quadrangles corresponding to the fourfold number of elements, as shown. The first of the four Quadrangles is the Figure of Fire and designates the nature of Choler. The second is the Figure of Air and designates the nature of Blood. The third is the Figure of Water and designates the nature of Phlegm. The fourth Element or Quadrangle is the Figure of Earth and designates the nature of Melancholy; each of these four Quadrangles contains sixteen terms colored in different colors as shown; but if we gave examples of all four Quadrangles in each of the seven parts, we would go into needless length; therefore it is sufficient to take one Quadrangle as an example for each part because whatever is said about one can be understood about any of the others, each in its own way.